The Qatari foreign minister made the remarks during a joint news conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the US Embassy in Paris on Sunday after Kerry briefed several Arab diplomats about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the acting Palestinian Authority.

"Each time a round of negotiations is supposed to start, it's preceded by a declaration of continued settlements or the announcement of the establishment of new settlements and this is a source of concern for us and directly affects the negotiations," Attiyah stated.

Israel has announced tenders for about 3,100 housing units in East al-Quds and occupied West Bank since the resumption of so-called peace talks in July.

The Israelis have intensified their settlement building activities since the start of the negotiations which means they are not serious about the peace talks, Jamal Juma, the coordinator for the Stop the Wall Campaign, told Press TV on September 4.

On September 3, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in the latest round of talks.

According to reports, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni attended the meeting. The officials presented their views on different issues, but no agreement was reached.

The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in the 1967 war and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.

SHI/SHI