REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JERUSALEM - Israel on Friday announced plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim for their future state.

Even though it was no surprise, the announcement is likely to anger the Palestinians and could cast a shadow on the US-led peace efforts.

Israel's housing ministry said 800 new houses will be built in the West Bank and 600 in east Jerusalem. The statement had been expected after Israel released 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners in late December, part of a deal made last summer when Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed. It was the third of four pledged prisoner releases.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, condemned the announcement, saying it undermines the "American efforts aimed at creating a peace track toward a two state solution."

The announcement was initially expected earlier in January, but was postponed, apparently to avoid any coinciding with last week's visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry who came in a fresh push to advance the negotiations. While Israel is not obligated to halt construction under the peace talks, Kerry has urged restraint and said the building raises questions about Israel's commitment to peace.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously issued similar construction announcements to blunt hardline criticism at home of prisoner releases as many of those released were convicted of killing Israeli civilians and soldiers. The new homes are planned in Ramat Shlomo, an enclave in east Jerusalem, and in various West Bank settlements.

The Palestinians demand those areas, captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war, for their state. They had long refused to negotiate with Israel while settlement construction continued.

Since the peace talks resumed last summer, Israel has issued 5,500 tenders for new housing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, said Yariv Oppenheimer of the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now.

It was a significant increase, compared to the annual average of between 2,000 and 3,000 in previous years. The fate of the territory is a main focus in peace talks and a very sensitive issue for both sides.

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