New Settlements Would Obstruct Peace, France Warns Israel

France on Saturday warned Israel not to go through with a plan for 3,000 settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, arguing it would constitute a serious obstacle to a peace deal with the Palestinians.

An Israeli official earlier confirmed a report in the Haaretz newspaper that the authorities were planning to build the new settlements in response to a historic U.N. vote Thursday recognizing Palestine as a non-member state of the world body.

"I call on Israeli authorities to refrain from any decision to that effect and to clearly show their willingness to restart (peace) negotiations," said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

"If confirmed, this decision... would create a serious obstacle to a two-state solution, by undermining the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state," Fabius said.

"It would take away the trust needed to resume dialogue," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had warned that by going to the U.N., the Palestinians had "violated" previous agreements with Israel, such as the 1993 Oslo Accords, and that his country would "act accordingly."

Direct peace talks have been on hold since September 2010, with the Palestinians insisting on a settlement freeze before returning to the negotiating table and the Israelis insisting on no preconditions.

The United States and Britain have also expressed regret over Israel's decision to resume the project, which would link a large West Bank settlement to others in east Jerusalem, and warned it would complicate future peace efforts.