The United States will endorse a tougher tone with Israel in an upcoming international report that takes the Jewish state to task over settlements, demolitions and property seizures on land the Palestinians claim for a future state, diplomats have told The Associated Press.
The US and its fellow Mideast mediators also will chastise Palestinian leaders for failing to rein in anti-Israeli violence.
But the diplomats involved in drafting the document said its primary focus will be a surge of construction in Jewish housing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The US approval of the harsh language marks a subtle shift.
Washington has traditionally tempered statements by the so-called "Quartet" of mediators with careful diplomatic language, but the diplomats said the US in this case will align itself closer to the positions of the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, who emphasise Israel's role in the Mideast impasse.
The report's release is sure to infuriate Israel, where officials are already bracing for expected criticism.
Diplomats acknowledge the report, which could come out in late May or June, will be largely symbolic, requiring no action.
It could be unveiled at the UN and possibly sent to the Security Council for an endorsement, according to the diplomats, who included three US officials.
They all demanded anonymity because they weren't authorised to discuss the unfinished work publicly.
The diplomats said the report is intended to highlight obstacles to a two-state peace agreement - the stated goal of both Israeli and Palestinian leaders - and offer recommendations for restarting negotiations in a process that is stalled.
The Palestinians don't want talks as long as settlement construction continues; the Israelis say they're open to negotiations, but have shown little interest in making any meaningful concessions.
In 1972, there were just over 10,000 Israeli settlers, with 1500 living in the West Bank and the rest in east Jerusalem.
The settlements are now home to more than 570,000 Israelis, according to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now - 370,000 in the West Bank and 200,000 in east Jerusalem.
