Palestine, West Bank Settlement | featured news

A dovish Israeli expert who predicted Israel's settlement campaign would perpetuate its control of the occupied West Bank said pursuing a two-state solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a "waste of time."

Declaring "Jerusalem is not a settlement," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant note on Monday after new U.S. criticism of Jewish home construction in disputed territory in and around the city.

Israel has no intention of backing down in its argument with the United States over Israeli plans to build 1,600 apartments on disputed land in largely Arab East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who tried to stab a soldier on Sunday, the Israeli army said, in West Bank violence that placed further strain on U.S.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel and the Palestinians on Saturday to restart negotiations as world powers stepped up diplomatic efforts to push the peace process forward.

Jewish settlers widened their protests on Sunday against a temporary construction freeze by shooting at a Palestinian home, torching and stoning vehicles, and assaulting Israeli officers in separate West Bank incidents.

The Palestinian president on Wednesday resisted U.S. pressure for a resumption of peace talks with Israel, repeating his demand for a complete halt to West Bank settlement building before negotiations.