Vice President Joseph Biden has opened talks with Israeli leaders ahead of the restart of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. In his first trip to Israel as vice president, Biden said Washington’s ties to Israel are “unshakable.” Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders are condemning Israel for approving 112 new units in an ultra-Orthodox settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat: “If the price that we will pay for saying yes to Mitchell will be more settlements and more incursions and more dictations, that’s a big question mark about the possibility of continuing. We condemn this Israeli action, and we call upon the United States of America to really stop such Israeli actions in order to give peace a chance.”