Obama calls for settlement freeze

US president says moratorium on Israeli settlement construction should be extended beyond September 26 expiry date. - Al Jazeera

Barack Obama, the US president, has called for Israel to extend its partial freeze of the building of settlements on occupied Palestinian land to inject fresh momentum into newly-resumed Middle East peace talks.

Speaking on Friday, Obama said that last week's launch of a new round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians had "exceeded many people's expectations".

But the president warned that the approaching expiry of a moratorium on Israeli construction of projects on Palestinian territory, which is due to end on September 26, could threaten the negotiations.