Settlement plea

EU politicians say they are cautiously optimistic that Israel will change its stance on settlement building in the West Bank, the issue which is currently blocking a return to peace negotiations between the Palestinian authorities and the Israelis.

"The negotiations with Israel have not finished and we have some weeks to go. I hope very much that we'll be able to get a change of that position," the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said at a weekend meeting in the Swedish capital Stockholm.

However, Israel on Sunday reiterated its plan to construct "several hundred additional homes" in the occupied West Bank, with Transport Minister Yisrael Katz promising an official announcement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "in the coming days."

Netanyahu has so far only offered to consider placing a temporary moratorium on settlement building for a few months, but only after these latest constructions get the go ahead.

Europe, the US and the Palestinians strongly oppose this, and the Palestinians are insisting that Israel must cease settlement building before the stalled peace talks can begin again.

Javier Solana had hoped that these negotiations could be re-launched on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

"We are very disappointed by some of the statements referred to in the past hours," he said.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said Europe had "very strong support for the American approach, notably regarding settlements. They're illegal, they are an impediment to the peace process."

msh/AFP/dpa/AP

Editor: Nick Amies