Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed opposition on Sunday to freezing settlement construction on the Palestinian land as a condition for the extension of talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed opposition on Sunday to freezing settlement construction on the Palestinian land as a condition for the extension of talks between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu said that the suspension of settlement activities “would serve nothing.”

The comments come as US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is mediating the talks between the two sides, asked the negotiators to agree on a framework for extending the negotiations beyond an April 29 deadline.

Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said that prolonging the talks is possible only if Tel Aviv halts its illegal settlement expansion on the Palestinian land.