US vows to halt Israeli building in East Jerusalem

U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell promised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the U.S. will bring a halt to Israeli building in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian official told the newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi on Saturday. "In a telephone conversation, Mitchell said the U.S. would make sure Israel stops building in the area," the Palestinian official told the London-based Arabic daily newspaper. The U.S. has recently expressed frustration over Israel's announcement on Tuesday of new settlement construction, a move that deeply embarrassed visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and imperiled U.S. plans to launch indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.