Israel ‘spits in America’s face’ as Rice visits

Israel announced a settlement expansion in the West Bank Monday, dealing a blow to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she held talks with Israel's premier on jumpstarting the dormant Middle East peace process.

The housing ministry invited bids for construction of 44 new housing units in the largest settlement in the occupied West Bank, Ma'aleh Adumim.

The news of the first tenders announced this year came as Rice and Olmert were meeting one-on-one for more than two hours at the premier's Jerusalem residence.

Palestinians and the Peace Now anti-settlement watchdog group warned that the move jeopardized the international road map to Middle East peace - a plan that Rice has been pushing on her regional tour.

"Israel must make a choice between peace and settlements. It cannot have both," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "It's defying the international community and undermining Secretary of State Rice's peace efforts."

Announcing the bids for the settlement on the last day of Rice's trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories "is just spitting in the face of the American government," Peace Now spokesman Yariv Oppenheimer said. "This is the best way to say to the American government the truth - that Israel is ignoring its commitments under the road map."

When asked to comment on the bids, Rice's spokesman Sean McCormack said only that there is "no change in our policy."