Israel moves ahead with new east Jerusalem housing

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli government is moving ahead with plans to build nearly 1,300 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, an official said Monday, drawing a harsh U.S. response just as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the U.S. for meetings with American leaders.

The plan drew renewed attention to Israeli settlement policies just as Washington was pressing Israel to curb construction to get stalled peace talks back on track.

Israel's Interior Ministry said the decision to seek public comment on the building plans was merely a procedural step.

Even so, the announcement risked setting off another Israeli run-in with Vice President Joe Biden, who met with Netanyahu in New Orleans on Sunday. Israel infuriated Biden early this year by announcing other construction plans in east Jerusalem while the vice president was visiting.

In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Monday's announcement was "deeply disappointing" and "counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties."

Netanyahu's office did not comment.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Mideast war and says the entire city is its eternal capital. The annexation is not internationally recognized.

Nearly 200,000 Israelis live in Jewish neighborhoods built around east Jerusalem to solidify Israel's control of the area.

The Palestinians and the international community consider these neighborhoods illegal settlements, along with more than 100 Jewish settlements that dot the West Bank.

Netanyahu met with Biden in New Orleans on Sunday and is to meet with Clinton in New York on Thursday. President Barack Obama will be traveling in Asia during Netanyahu's trip.