Israel continues its expansion in occupied Palestine. It's clear without a shadow of a doubt that Israel is not interested in peace or permanent settlement of this conflict. It clearly believes that Jerusalem is its capital and it will not cease until it removes Palestinians from the entire city. The encroachment upon Masjid Al-Aqsa also continues, slowly but surely. All this in broad daylight. The world is a silent witness. An excerpt of the AP story follows:

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Israel announced Monday it is building nearly 700 new apartments for Jews in east Jerusalem, where Palestinians hope to set up the capital of a future state. The U.S., Palestinians and the European Union condemned the plan, a fresh setback to American efforts to restart Mideast peace talks.

The Palestinians have said they will not resume talks without an Israeli settlement freeze, and criticized what they said was another show of bad faith by Israel.

"With each individual action it undertakes on the ground, Israel is saying no to meaningful negotiations," said Palestinian negotiatorSaeb Erekat.

President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, who is trying to find a formula for reviving negotiations, is due in Israel and theWest Bank in the second week of January.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the U.S. "opposes new Israeli construction in east Jerusalem" and that neither side should take steps that pre-empt the outcome of talks. He urged both sides to restart negotiations without preconditions.

Sweden, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, said Israel's latest plans "prevent the creation of an atmosphere conducive to resuming negotiations on a two-state solution."