UN chief: Israel should halt settlement expansion

"The secretary-general calls on the government of Israel to halt settlement expansion and reiterates that the fulfillment of Road Map obligations by both parties is an important measure underpinning the political process between them," Ban's spokeswoman, Michel Montas, said in a statement.

The expansion, which the Palestinians denounced as another blow to US-brokered peace talks, was announced on Sunday, just three days after an Israeli Arab terrorist killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem that was associated with the settler movement.

"Any settlement expansion is contrary to Israel's obligations under the road map and to international law," Montas said.

The Bush administration said the plan does not help the progress of US-backed peace talks.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Monday at the State Department with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Rice told reporters US policy on expansion of settlements in disputed areas is well-known, and it is important to keep the atmosphere positive.

Sitting next to Livni, Rice urged Israelis and Palestinians to honor their obligations under the 2003 roadmap for peace, which calls for a settlement freeze and an end to Palestinian violence.

"US policy on this is well known. We have said that it's important to do everything possible to make the atmosphere for Annapolis as good as possible," Rice told reporters who were present for the start of their meeting.

Livni and Rice. Tense meeting? (Photo: Shahar Azran)   

Earlier, Rice's spokesman Sean McCormack called the Israeli decision "unhelpful" and said he "will ask the secretary about any conversations that she's had regarding the announcement over the weekend over the new construction of settlements.

"I know we have raised this with the Israelis. We've expressed some concern about this," McCormack told reporters, apparently referring to past Israeli settlement announcements and their impact on the new peace process.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that Israel's security depends upon a halt to "colonization" in the West Bank, as he welcomed President Shimon Peres for a five-day state visit. Sarkozy, who calls himself a friend of Israel, said France would "always be at its side" and insisted the best way for Israel to battle terrorism was to help restart the stalled Mideast peace process.

A British Foreign Office spokesperson said on Monday that the UK was "concerned by reports that Israel plans to build in the settlement of Givat Ze'ev.

"We have raised our concerns about these latest reports with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and stressed that we see this as unhelpful - particularly when Israelis and Palestinians should be focusing on full implementation of their obligations under phase one of the Road Map, which include freezing all settlement activity, including natural growth."

The Israeli decision was denounced by Palestinian officials who said it would shatter efforts to relaunch the peace process that has been stagnant since it was revived in late November.

Jordan: Plans obstruct regional peace efforts

The decision also drew criticism from Egypt on Monday with Foreign Minsitry Spokesman Hossam Zaki charging that it "flies in the face of political dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis."

"The expansion of Israeli settlements, which is contrary to international law and UN resolutions, undermines the opportunities for achieving a just peace," Zaki said, calling on the sponsors of the Middle East peace process to put pressure on Israel to reverse the decision.

Jordan on Monday condemned the Israeli plans, saying they "obstruct" regional peace efforts.

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state in 1994, "rejects Israel's unilateral measures, particularly expanding settlements," the palace quoted King Abdullah II as telling Palestinian president Mahmuod Abbas at talks in Amman.

The US-mediated peace talks, launched in November with the goal of reaching a statehood agreement before US President George W. Bush leaves office in January, have been stalled by disputes over Jewish settlement building and a deadly Israeli offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The Middle East Road Map for peace, first outlined in 2002, calls on Israel to halt all settlement activity and on the Palestinians to rein in militants.

The guardian of the Road Map is the so-called Middle East quartet consisting of the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations.

Reuters, AFP, AP and Ynetnews contributed to this report