Talks at impasse over Israeli settlements: PA

"Israel's settlement activity caused the negotiations to fail and led them to an impasse," Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for acting PA chief Mahmoud Abbas, said on Thursday.

The comments came after an Israeli official said the Tel Aviv regime had progressed with plans for more than 2,000 new settler units in six settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Guy Inbar, a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Military Affairs’ unit responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, announced the news earlier in the day. He said a ministry committee had furthered existing plans for 2,269 homes at a meeting last month.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in 2010 after the Tel Aviv regime refused to halt its settlement construction.

US Secretary of State John Kerry brokered the negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians after a three-year gap. Kerry has given the two sides a nine-month deadline to reach a deal.

He has called on the PA to extend talks with Israel beyond April. The PA says extending talks with Israel beyond the April deadline is conditioned on a moratorium on Israel’s settlement constructions in the occupied territories.