Israel OK's expanded West Bank settlement

JERUSALEM -- Israel has approved 600 new housing units for the West Bank's biggest Jewish settlement despite an understanding with Washington not to expand enclaves on occupied land, political sources said yesterday.

No building tenders have been published since the decision two months ago, and security sources said the United States, Israel's main ally and key mediator in its conflict with the Palestinians, would be consulted before construction began.

The plan would add homes to Maale Adumim, a suburban-style settlement with 30,000 people. Located just east of Jerusalem, it straddles the midsection of territory Palestinians seek for a viable independent state under a US-led peace ''road map."

Washington, which has Israel's pledge not to build beyond existing zones in West Bank settlements, voiced reservations.

''Israel has made a commitment," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said. ''We look forward to Israel abiding by that commitment and sticking by the road map."

Palestinians accused Israel of poor faith in peacemaking.

''This is in total defiance of the road map . . . and total defiance of President Bush's vision. Settlements and peace do not go together," the Palestinian negotiations minister, Saeb Erekat, said.

''We will discuss this new neighborhood with the Americans," an Israeli security official said of the decision, acknowledged by a Defense Ministry spokesman without further comment.

The Bush administration has already expressed dismay at the Israeli government's failure to tear down dozens of unauthorized settlement outposts erected during Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's tenure since 2001.

Israeli officials say legal actions filed by settlers have bogged down attempts to remove outposts.

Political sources said the 600 new homes would extend Maale Adumim eastward, which could rupture direct trade and transportation routes between the northern and southern West Bank.