Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ruled that any new settlement construction in the West Bank must be personally approved by him.
The order comes just hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made another plea to Israel to stop building homes for Jews in occupied East Jerusalem.
The row has paralysed renewed peace efforts following November's Annapolis talks.
Both leaders say they're aiming to sign a peace treaty in 2008, but as Jacky Rowland explains, many challenges lie ahead.
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