Israel settlements: UN steps up pressure

The UN is stepping up pressure on Israel over its settlement building on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The secretary general and all Security Council members except the US demanded an immediate halt to new construction.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would press ahead with settlement expansion.

The US protects Israel at the UN but the state department accused Israel of "a pattern of provocative action".

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said settlement activity put the goal of peace "further at risk".

Also on Wednesday, Jerusalem's planning committee granted approval for 2,610 homes in a new settlement in East Jerusalem called Givat Hamatos - the first to be built in the area since 1997.

Meanwhile, tenders have been announced for several settlements in the West Bank for a total of 1,000 new homes.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it as part of its capital, in a move never recognised internationally.

Palestinians want the area to be capital of a state they seek to establish in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, land also captured by Israel.

The four European members of the UN Security Council - France, Germany, the UK and Portugal - issued a statement saying they were "extremely concerned" by Israel's intentions to build more settlements.