The statement came after reports that Israel was planning to resume some construction in the West Bank when the moratorium expires on Sept. 26, a move the Palestinians say would torpedo newly relaunched US-backed peace talks.

The anti-settlement Peace Now group said ground had already been broken on 2,066 units and that another 11,000 had received final government approval.

“This means that if the government decides on a de facto ‘tacit freeze’, and commits to not approve any new construction but without renewing the freeze order, the settlers can still build 13,000 housing units,” Peace Now said.

It added that another 25,000 units were in the pipeline but required further government approval.

An Israeli government official confirmed on condition of anonymity that construction on around 2,000 homes could proceed without any further approval.

US President Barack Obama said last week he had called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the moratorium.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to walk out of the current talks if construction in the settlements resumes, while Obama has asked him to show more flexibility.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s vague remarks on restricting new Israeli housing in the West Bank are the latest hurdle for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she flew on Monday to Egypt and Israel for the next round of Mideast peace talks.

Clinton and former Sen. George Mitchell, Obama’s special envoy to the region, plan to be in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, for talks on Tuesday with Netanyahu and Abbas.

The leaders are scheduled to shift to Jerusalem for a second day of talks Wednesday. It is likely that Obama will resume negotiations with Abbas and Netanyahu in New York the following week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Obama has framed Clinton's task for this week's meetings as an effort to get Israeli and Palestinian leaders to focus on how they can help the other succeed rather than figuring out a way for the other to fail.

Obama wants a deal within a year; Israelis are deeply skeptical after decades of failed efforts.

One concern of all the parties to the talks is Hamas, the militant movement that refuses to negotiate and opposes Israel's very existence. Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, which is supposed to be part of a negotiated Palestinian state along with most of the West Bank.