Jordan says Israeli settlements \'obstruct\" peace

Jordan said Thursday that Israel's settlement policies "obstruct" peace efforts, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to legalise outposts built on private Palestinian land. "Israel's settlement policies on Arab land obstruct political and diplomatic efforts to resume peace talks with the Palestinians," Prime Minister Maaruf Bakhit said during a meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis, the state-run Petra news agency reported. The United States said it opposes "any effort to legalise" settlement outposts on Palestinian land after Netanyahu announced on Tuesday the establishment of a new committee charged with finding ways to do so. The international community considers all settlements built in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, to be illegal. Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.