1.   Settlement activity is likely to follow.

2.   American officials, however, have made clear in recent months that they consider any settlement activity an obstacle to the peace effort.

3.   Barak also spoke a lot of settlement activity, and he gave positive promises.

4.   A burst of settlement activity followed.

5.   Ahmed Khoury, the speaker of the Palestinian legislative council, said further talks with Israel should be made conditional on a cessation of settlement activity.

6.   Erekat said that Israel should first make a commitment to freeze settlement activity, to ease blockades and economic restrictions on the Palestinians and to negotiate a permanent peace.

7.   For Israel it would mean a matching cease-fire, a freeze on new settlement activity and an unconditional return to the bargaining table.

8.   For his part, Sharon agreed to abide by all the elements of the Mitchell report, including a freeze on settlement activity.

9.   He comes out strongly against continued Israeli settlement activity, and calls for implementation of the recommendations made by the commission led by former Sen. George Mitchell.

10.   He has also voiced no reaction to settlement activity that seems to have increased in the final days of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.