Sunday, 6 September 2009 16:22 UK

The Israeli cabinet has approved plans by PM Benjamin Netanyahu to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank, despite strong US opposition.

Israeli media reports suggest that up to 700 apartments could be built in Jewish settlements.

On Friday, the US urged its ally to abandon its West Bank construction agenda, for the sake of reviving Middle East peace talks.

A Hamas spokesman has said President Obama has "failed" over the issue.

On Friday, White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said the US regretted Israel's plans to expand settlements.

"As the president has said before, the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion and we urge that to stop," Mr Gibbs said in a statement.

Such actions make a climate for talks "harder to create", the White House press secretary added.

The work in the West Bank will be in addition to 2,500 units already under construction in East Jerusalem, an area which the Palestinians have laid claim as a capital for a future state.

But Israel wants to continue building to allow for what it calls the "natural growth" of communities there, and refuses to halt construction in East Jerusalem.

A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said on Sunday that Israel's continued plans to press ahead with its settlement programme proved that US President Barack Obama had failed in his mediation attempts.

The Palestinians have made the resumption of peace talks conditional on a halt to all settlement activity by Israel.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat has said the new construction plans undermined efforts to revive the peace process.

The issue is expected to be discussed when Benjamin Netanyahu's aides meet US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, next week.

Close to 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS

Construction of settlements began in 1967, shortly after the Middle East War.

Some 280,000 Israelis now live in the 121 officially-recognised settlements in the West Bank.

A further 190,000 Israelis live in settlements in Palestinian East Jerusalem.

The largest West Bank settlement is Maale Adumim, where more than 30,000 people were living in 2005.

There are a further 102 unauthorised outposts in the West Bank which are not officially recognised by Israel.

The population of West Bank settlements has been growing at a rate of 5-6% since 2001.

Source: Peace Now

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8240611.stm