U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that Israel\’s announcement of new settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem \”were to some degree expected,\” and urged Israelis and Palestinians to move head with peace talks due to resume this week.
The next round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks will be held in Israel next week, according to Tzipi Livni, Israel’s chief negotiator.
The Israeli government put 91 Jewish settlements on a national priority funding list on Sunday, adding six to a roster of dozens of enclaves already eligible for supplemental state cash.
Israel and the Palestinians remain far apart over terms of any peace deal, officials from both sides made clear on Wednesday, a day after talks resumed in Washington for the first time in nearly three years.
Talks between Palestinians and Israelis will resume on Monday evening, the first such formal deliberations in almost three years.
An Israeli cabinet minister said on Thursday that U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinians could begin next week.
U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to resume negotiations with the Palestinians.
The coming weeks could decide the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, John Kerry said during a tour of Arab states on his way to attempt to broker new peace talks.
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