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According to the Sidney Morning Herald:

"The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, was set to withdraw from all peace talks with Israel last night after the announcement this week that 1600 apartments would be added to Jewish settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

The announcement enraged the visiting US Vice-President, Joe Biden, who has told the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that it was liable to ''set the Middle East on fire''.

Mr Biden blames Mr Netanyahu for the decision, telling officials on Wednesday that the United States' close relationship with Israel was jeopardising its other bilateral relationships across the region.

''This is starting to get dangerous for us,'' he reportedly castigated Israeli officials. ''What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace." -more

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