Workers construct new houses in the Jewish settlement of Shilo in the West Bank Israel has been criticised by the United States and Palestinian leaders for its plans to build new settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The move came a day after a historic UN vote saw Palestine\'s diplomatic status upgraded from non-member observer to non-member observer state.
Israel responded on Friday by unveiling plans to build 3,000 more settler homes, without specifying exactly where they would to be located.
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas called for a return to peace talks and described Israeli settlement plans as an obstacle to peace. \"There are at least 15 UN resolutions which consider settlement activity as illegal and an obstacle to peace which must be removed. Why do (the Israelis) not stop settlement? I\'ve said a thousand times that we want to resume negotiations and we are ready to do it,\" he said.
US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton told reporters: \"These activities set back the cause of a negotiated peace. The most lasting solution to the stalemate in Gaza would be a comprehensive peace between Israel and all Palestinians.\"
Israel has long feared that if the Palestinians won the rank of a UN non-member state, they could pursue the Jewish state for war crimes at the International Criminal Court, particularly in relation to settlements.
Palestine Liberation Organisation official Hanan Ashrawi told AFP, \"it is an act of Israeli aggression against a state, and the world needs to take up its responsibilities.\"
On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution recognising Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member observer state.