U.S. 'Deeply Disappointed' over Israeli Settlement Decision

The White House said Wednesday it was "deeply disappointed" that Israel decided to speed up settlement building after UNESCO decided to admit the Palestinians, boosting their statehood drive.

"We are deeply disappointed by yesterday's announcement about accelerated housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

"As we have said before, unilateral actions work against efforts to resume direction negotiations and they do not advance the goal of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties.

"That's the only way to achieve the two-state solution that both sides have as their goal, with the Palestinians having their own sovereign state and the Israelis having the security that they so deeply deserve," Carney said.

"So any action, as we have said all along, that either side takes that makes it harder rather than easier for the two parties to come together in direct negotiations is something that we oppose."

Israel's inner cabinet decided on Tuesday to speed up construction of Jewish settlements in annexed Arab east Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, a day after the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) accepted Palestine as a full member.