By Xinhua,
Ramallah : Israel undermines peace efforts by continuing building more settlements in West Bank and Jerusalemcity, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Saturday.
Erekat said Israel has continued inviting bids for building settlements since November, the same month it agreed with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume the peace process at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis.
“This was the issue that still blocks the peace process so far and this thing undermines the efforts which try to make the year 2008 a year of peace,” Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
On Friday, Israel revealed plans to build and expand 100 homes in two West Bank settlements, violating the U.S.-backed Road Map peace plan which is considered reference of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Defending the PA’s decision not to halt the talks in protest, Erekat said the negotiations were “not faulty,” adding that Israelwas to blame for “not carrying out its commitments under the Road Map which firstly calls on stopping the settlement activities including the natural growth” of the houses.
Meanwhile, Erekat said that President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Washington on Sunday and hold talks with U.S. President George W. Bush and senior U.S. officials. The visit will last until April 25.