Kerry "expected" announcement of new Israeli settlements

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said that the Israeli announcement of new bids to build 1000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem was “to some extent, expected.”

He ruled out that this could be considered an obstacle to the resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian negotiators and Israelis.

Kerry called for both sides to stop taking provocative measures and to get to the table soon. “It underscores the importance of getting to the table, getting to the table quickly,” he said during a visit to Colombia last night.

Kerry reiterated that the US view Israeli settlements to be “illegitimate”. He said that he had phoned Israeli Justice Minister, Tzipi Livni, and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and had discussed the issue with them.

In addition to the 1200 new settlements it announced early this week, the Israeli government announced the building of some 1000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.