WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States reiterated on Tuesday its call for Israel to put an end to its settlement activities in the West Bank, saying settlement expansion runs counter to the US-backed peace "road map".

    "There needs to be an end to settlement activity," said deputy department spokesman Adam Ereli. "This is a vital, essential component of the road map, along with commitments on the Palestinian side."

    "We are opposed to unilateral acts by either side that create facts on the ground and that have the result of prejudging issues that are to be settled through negotiations between the parties," Ereli said.

    The road map requires a halt to settlement-building on land Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War, where the Palestinians want as part of a future state.

    Israeli officials said Monday that they plan to build 3,500 newhomes in the West Bank to cement its hold on Jerusalem.

    Ereli declined to comment on the specifics of the latest settlement plans, saying, "We are seeking clarifications from the Israeli government on what its intentions are, what its plans are."

    He said US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer met Monday with Israeli officials, and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams were duein Israel Tuesday on a previously planned trip.

    "They will certainly use the opportunity to raise this issue with the Israeli government to seek clarifications and to, I think,make the point that US policy on this issue is very clear," Ereli said. Enditem