West Bank, March 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A day after the Palestinians agreed to resume peace talks with Israelis, Israeli occupation authorities authorized the construction of 112 new apartments in the West Bank despite a promise to slowdown settlement building.

Word of the new construction in the Beitar Illit settlement came while the U.S. is trying to salvage peacemaking as Washington's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, is also meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Israel agreed in November to restrict settlement building in the West Bank, but it rejected any curbs in east Jerusalem.

Palestinian leaders agreed yesterday to hold U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel for four months. They backed off from a demand that Israel freeze all building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem before they would return to the negotiating table.

Saeb Erekat, Palestinian negotiator, accused Israel of trying to undermine the talks even before they began. "If the Israeli government wants to sabotage Mitchell's efforts by taking such steps, let's talk to Mitchell about maybe not doing this (indirect talks) if the price is so high," he said today.

The Palestinians broke off the talks after the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in December 2008.

Source: agencies