RAMALLAH, West Bank: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Israeli settlement activity on Sunday, saying new construction projects on disputed land were having a negative effect on Mideast peace talks. Rice made the comments during her latest attempt to prod Israelis and Palestinians toward a final peace deal by the end of the year. After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rice said the US remains committed to the target date. But she said Israeli plans to build thousands of homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem were hurting the negotiating atmosphere. Last week, Israel said it would build 1,300 new apartments in east Jerusalem. It s important to have an atmosphere of trust and confidence, Rice told reporters. Unfortunately I do believe, and the United States believes, that the ... announcements taking place are having a negative effect on talks. She said she would raise the issue of settlements later in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Israeli leader s office declined comment. Rice s agenda also includes a three-way meeting with the chief Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, and another joint meeting with Israel s defense minister and the Palestinian prime minister set for Monday. She cautioned that she did not expect any blinding breakthroughs. Palestinian leaders repeatedly have said Israeli settlement construction was undermining public support for peace talks. Today, some 250,000 Israelis live in occupied West Bank settlements, along with 180,000 Israelis in east Jerusalem. Under the US-backed road map peace plan, Israel has pledged to halt all settlement activity. But Olmert has said he would continue building in West Bank settlements that Israel expects to retain under a final peace agreement. He also says the freeze does not apply to east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the 1967 war. The annexation has not been internationally recognized. Rice, however, said the status of all disputed land must be resolved through negotiations, and existing Israel settlements would not prejudice those talks.
