Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary general of the PLO's Executive Committee, told the Voice of Palestine radio that the construction would cause the negotiations, which the US relaunched on Sept. 2, to stop. He added the Israeli government is to blame for the collapse of the entire peace process. Rabbo's remarks came as the building work at several West Bank settlements restarted Monday morning after a 10-month construction ban expired at midnight on Sunday.

He accused Israel of following double-deal on the world and the Palestinians by not issuing an official stance about the expiry of a moratorium on Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Rabbo, also member of the negotiation team, said that Israel is playing games and trying to handle the crisis by deceiving. He added that the Jewish occupiers are laying cornerstones for new construction projects in the settlements "and the Israeli government is silent in order to combine peace and settlement."

According to the PLO official, an end to construction is needed so that peace process can progress. He also accused the US administration of not working seriously to force Israel to extend the moratorium. Israeli media reported that the Palestinians are seeking US assurances about the borders of the future Palestinian state while Israel is seeking strategic security assurances.