Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel.
 
"The Palestinian president decided he will not enter into those negotiations now ... the Palestinian side is not ready to negotiate under the present circumstances," Moussa told a news conference following an urgent meeting of Arab delegates at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.
 
The Arab League, which recently endorsed indirect talks between the Palestinians and Israel, convened on Wednesday an emergency session following Israel's decision to build 1,600 new housing units in occupied east Jerusalem.
 
Abbas had only agreed to the talks on condition that Israel imposed a settlement freeze.
 
The league's Arab peace initiative committee called on Arab foreign ministers to reconsider their support for the talks they extended on March 3. "In case of the failure to stop the Israeli measures immediately ... the committee concludes that the proposed talks are irrelevant," the committee's statement said.
 
The committee said Israel's announcement Tuesday to build 1,600 new housing units showed it was not serious about negotiating, adding that if the Israeli moves are not halted immediately the talks would have no meaning.
 
Secretary-General Moussa cut short his visit to Qatar in order to attend the meeting. Syrian representative to the Arab League, Ambassador Yosef Ahamad said that Israel's decision justifies Damascus' objection to the renewal of negotiations with the Zionist entity.
 
During a joint press conference with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr al-Thani, Moussa said, "We will study Israel's position and formulate recommendations that will be presented to the ministers and later on to the Arab Summit slated to convene in Libya at the end of the month."
 
Al-Thani condemned Israel's plan to expand construction around occupied Jerusalem and said that a clear Arab response must be put forth. He added that Israel's position is placing the Arab League's decisions at risk.
 
The construction plan, which was announced during US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Tel Aviv, stirred a diplomatic flurry and embarrassed the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.
 
Israel apologized for embarrassing Biden with the timing of its announcement, but made clear it has no intention of reversing its plan.
 
Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that the crisis with key ally the United States over settlement expansion has ended, "Netanyahu called Biden at about 11:30 am (0930 GMT) and both agreed the crisis is behind them," an official in the premier's office said.
 
Biden publicly criticized Israel's decision and said during a news conference with Abbas in Ramallah, "Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem undermines that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin ... profitable negotiations."
 
Abbas, for his part, said Israel's continued settlement construction, especially in occupied Jerusalem, threatens the negotiations before they get off the ground. He had agreed to a proposal to resume the US-mediated negotiations after a 14 month hiatus due to the backing from Arab countries.
 
"The Palestinians remain committed to peace as a strategic choice on the basis of two states co-existing side by side according to the '67 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state," he said.
 
"We call on Israel to cancel these decisions," Abbas said. "I call on the Israeli government not to lose a chance to make peace. I call on them to halt settlement building and to stop imposing facts on the ground, and to give the efforts of the Obama administration and Senator Mitchell the chance to succeed."
 
HAARETZ: ISRAEL PLANNING 50,000 HOUSING UNITS IN OCCUPIED E. JERUSALEM
Moreover, Israeli daily Haaretz quoted planning officials as saying that some 50,000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval. They said occupied Jerusalem's construction plans for the next few years, even decades, are expected to focus on occupied East Jerusalem.
 
The plans for some 20,000 of the apartments are already in advanced stages of approval and implementation, while plans for the remainder have yet to be submitted to the planning committees.
 
The planned construction includes the 1,600 homes in the ultra-Orthodox East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo that were approved Tuesday.
 
WIDE CONDEMNATIONS FOR ISRAELI ANNOUNCEMENT
Israel's announcement sparked swift condemnation from key ally the United States and a number of other countries including Britain, Australia, Russia, Turkey and China.
 
Turkey slammed Thursday Israel's decision to build new settlements, saying that it raised "serious doubts" on the Zionist entity's commitment to peace. "At a time when indirect talks between Palestine and Israel are on the agenda, boosting confidence between the two sides is necessary more than ever," a foreign ministry statement said. "To make such a decision in this atmosphere leads to serious doubts over Israel's attitude and intentions," it said.
 
China called on Israel to put an end to the settlement project. "We request the Israeli side to stop the establishment of new Jewish settlements and make concerted efforts and concrete actions to contribute to the resumption of peace talks," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "This action will damage the basis for the negotiations between the two sides and undermine international mediation efforts."
 
Moreover, Russia criticized as unacceptable the Israeli government decision. "We consider such actions by Israel as unacceptable," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that Moscow had learned of the decision with "great concern". "The actions contradict the generally accepted international legal basis for a (Middle East) settlement (and) predetermine the results of the negotiating process," it added.
 
For its part, Australia joined international condemnation Thursday of Israel's plan, saying the move was "not helpful" to building peace with the Palestinians. "I share the view that this is a bad decision at the wrong time, and it's not a helpful contribution to the peace process," Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Sky News.
 
On Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband condemned the Israeli decision, saying it will strengthen those who argue Israel is not serious about peace. "This is a bad decision at the wrong time," said Miliband. "Along with our EU partners, I condemn it as certain to undermine the mutual confidence we need." "Real peace will require the courage, commitment and compromise of both sides. This needs to be demonstrated not only by words, but by actions," he said.
 
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also issued a statement. "The European Union reiterates that settlements are illegal under international law," it said, echoing a point made by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a day earlier.
 
In Washington, State Department spokesman Crowley said Mitchell would raise the matter when he returned to the region next week.
 
It also sparked a row within Netanyahu's rightist-led coalition, with a minister from the centre-left Labor party, a key partner, warning that it may quit. "Members of the Labor party have more and more difficulty in taking part in a coalition government that they joined with the purpose of relaunching the peace process with the Palestinians," Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon said. "The anger of Biden is justified. A grave error has been committed and there is a price to pay," he told army radio.
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