U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday wrapped up her two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank, saying that the Jewish state's continued settlement building could hurt Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
Rice, who arrived in Israel late Saturday night to give another push for the sluggish peace process between the Jewish state and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), made the comments on Sunday before meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
"I am very concerned that at a time when we need to build confidence between the parties, the continued building and the settlement activity has the potential to harm the negotiations going forward," Rice was quoted by local media as saying.
Upon her arrival at Tel Aviv Saturday, Rice had slashed Israel's latest announcement of a plan to build 1,300 houses for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem, saying the "problem" is "simply not helpful to building confidence" between Israel and the PNA.
Later Sunday, Rice held a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following their meeting in Ramallah. Speaking about the Israeli settlement activities, Rice said there are "decisions and declarations that affect the confidence between the two sides, adding that "we should all encourage confidence between them."
Abbas, for his part, asked Rice to "help us to convince Israel of being committed to stopping settlements activities."
"We consider settlement activities a major obstacle that obstructs any development in the peace process," Abbas said, adding that "as settlement activities increase, we of course face obstacles to achieve peace."
Despite Rice's criticism of Israel's continued settlement building, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded during a meeting with Rice on Sunday evening that Israel will continue building houses in Jerusalem.
"We are not confiscating additional Palestinian lands but building in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem which are expected to remain in Israeli hands," said Olmert.
Regarding construction endeavors in the settlements, the prime minister said that Israel's policy has not changed.
"It remains as it was - and it was clarified to our counterparts, both American and Palestinian, long before the Annapolis conference and then again after it," said Olmert.
Earlier Sunday, just as Rice was pressing Israel to stop construction in east Jerusalem during her sixth visit this year to he Middle East, the Jerusalem Municipality announced that Israel has decided to build tens of thousands of new apartments in Jerusalem, including several thousand in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.
The building proposal, which won city approval earlier this year, has been authorized by Israeli Interior Ministry's building and planning committee, said Jerusalem Municipality spokesman Gidi Schmerling.
In response to Rice's criticism, Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev also said on Sunday "it is clear to everyone that the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem will remain part of Israel in any possible final status agreement," adding that building inside those Jewish neighborhoods in no way contradicts Israel's commitment to move forward in the peace process.
Little significant progress has so far been achieved since Olmert and Abbas revived the peace talks at a U.S.-sponsored conference last November after a seven-year break off and pledged to strike a comprehensive peace agreement within 2008.
Pessimism is rising about the realization of this ambitious goal as the peace talks are overshadowed by the bloody violence in and around the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the latest legal battle of Olmert that could force him to leave office.
Earlier last week, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he believed it would be impossible to reach a peace deal with Israel this year, citing Israel's settlement expansion as a major obstacle.
Source:Xinhua
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