JERUSALEM — Jewish settlers have established a new West Bank community and expanded an existing one, drawing a protest Wednesday from Palestinian leaders who say the activity is hindering peace talks with Israel.
Israeli officials said both initiatives were illegal and undermined Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's pledge to President Bush and the Palestinians for a freeze on most settlement activity. But it was unclear whether Olmert's government would evict the 37 Jewish families involved.
In one case, 27 prefabricated homes have been assembled in Eli, a previously existing settlement about 10 miles north of Ramallah, and are being connected to the community's water and power lines.
The activity began last month and was first reported Wednesday in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Jews have occupied 10 additional homes in Maskiot in the Jordan Valley, Israel's Channel One television reported last week. More than a year ago Israel had approved, and then revoked, plans to build 30 homes there, but construction went ahead in recent weeks without government approval.
Palestinians seek the entire West Bank as part of an independent state and are demanding the removal of all Jewish settlements, whose existence most countries consider a violation of international law.
The new settler activity is far from Jerusalem. Olmert is permitting housing construction in East Jerusalem and nearby West Bank settlements that Israel expects to keep under a final peace accord.
With the exception of those sites, the Israeli leader "clearly reiterates his principles: no new settlements, no outward expansion of existing settlements," his spokesman, Mark Regev, said Wednesday.
Capt. Tzidki Maman, a spokesman for the Israeli military's civil administration in the West Bank, said it was examining ways to deal with the unauthorized construction in Eli and had issued orders to tear down the illegally built homes in Maskiot.
But he added that any move to evict settlers would depend on a decision from the Israeli political leadership.
Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian negotiator, denounced the settlement activity at a news conference Wednesday in Ramallah.
"To continue with settlements in this way will destroy the credibility of the peace process," he said. While the two sides have been discussing the central issues of the conflict for the last two months, he added, "the situation on the ground is deteriorating."
