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West Bank settlement construction lies at the heart of the current impasse in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians refuse to resume talks with Israel as long as it continues to build in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands they claim as part of a future state, along with the Gaza Strip. Israel captured the territories in the 1967 Mideast war.

The Beit El construction is part of an agreement on compensation offered to settlers uprooted from their homes in the unauthorized Ulpana outpost last year following a court ruling.

Speaking on Israel Army Radio ahead of her return from Italy, Livni said Israel explained the context of the new housing approval to U.S. officials in a bid to pre-emptively ease tensions that could disrupt Kerry’s efforts.

“We updated the Americans immediately to tell them that this is what is at issue, and therefore there is no cause for drama or anger,” Livni said.

This is an attempt to sabotage the efforts exerted by President Obama and Secretary Kerry to revive the peace process and is a message that the Israeli government is not serious about peace

Palestinians charged Israel was harming American attempts at restarting negotiations.

“This is an attempt to sabotage the efforts exerted by President Obama and Secretary Kerry to revive the peace process and is a message that the Israeli government is not serious about peace,” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel contends that peace talks should resume with no preconditions and that the fate of the settlements should be on the negotiating table.

Also Thursday, an Israeli rights group published a report claiming that most Palestinians killed during an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip last year were civilians.