New Israeli settlement plans `provocative and counterproductive`: US

District of Columbia: The United States said Wednesday it was "deeply concerned" by Israeli plans to build hundreds of new settlement homes in annexed east Jerusalem.

"These steps by Israeli authorities are the latest examples of what appears to be a steady acceleration of settlement activity that is systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.

"We remain troubled that Israel continues this pattern of provocative and counterproductive action," he said.