UN envoy singles out Israel over talks deadlock

The UN Middle East peace envoy on Monday singled out Israel's settlement construction for criticism as he highlighted deadlocked efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians into direct talks.

"Provocations continue to damage confidence and make resuming direct negotiations," special envoy Robert Serry told a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. "In particular, Israel continues to engage in settlement activity, including in highly sensitive areas, and demolitions of Palestinian structures are ongoing." (AFP)