Middle East peace talks could "collapse" due to continuing Israeli settlement expansion, a senior Palestinian official warned Tuesday, on the eve of the scheduled resumption of the fragile process.

"Settlement expansion goes against the US administration's pledges and threatens to cause the negotiations' collapse," Yasser Abed Rabbo told AFP.

The comments came after Israeli authorities approved the construction of a total of more than 2,000 settlement units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the days leading up to Wednesday's scheduled new round of direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

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