Israel planning more construction of settlements

Israel has moved to approve a plan to build 900 more housing units in a Jewish neighborhood on land claimed by Palestinians. The plan has drawn harsh criticism from the United States.

The Jerusalem district planning commission officially deposited the plan, opening it to comments, objections and appeals from the public. A Jerusalem city spokesman said final approval was still "many months" away.

In question is Gilo, a sprawling neighborhood where about 40,000 Israelis live, and which Israelis claim as an "integral" part of Jerusalem.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said that the plans proved that Palestinians were correct in saying Israel is not restraining its construction in the West Bank.

Salam Fayyad said, "It is completely unacceptable and what it establishes is the validity of our position on the question of settlement policy and settlement activity in general."

The Palestinians and Britain denounced the Israeli plan, but reaction from the US was especially sharp.

Ian Kelly, Spokesman of US State Department, said, "We believe that neither party should engage in any kind of actions that could unilaterally pre-empt or appear to pre-empt negotiations. And I think that we find the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem as dismaying."

Israel insists that east Jerusalem is part of Israel and rejects efforts to restrict building there.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has demanded a halt to construction in Israel's West Bank settlements before peace negotiations can resume.