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Summary
Israel and the Palestinians agreed to begin indirect, American-brokered talks, the US Mideast envoy announced on Monday -- ending a 14-month deadlock in peacemaking and representing the Obama administration's first substantive diplomatic achievement here. The announcement, however, came just hours after Israel enraged Palestinians by announcing new West Bank settlement construction on the same day US Vice President Joseph Biden landed in the region to promote negotiations. In Washington, US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Israeli officials had explained that the construction was approved before the moratorium. On the one hand, it does not violate the moratorium that the Israelis previously announced,'' Crowley said. On the other hand, this is a the kind of thing that both sides need to be cautious of as we move ahead with these parallel talks.''
