Kerry: Settlement building does not help Israeli-Palestinian situation

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that increased Israeli settlement building is not helping to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.

"I don't think that the situation is helped by additional settlement construction and building," Kerry told a House of Representatives Appropriationssubcommittee at a hearing on the State Department's annual budget request.

"I think that I know we need to see measures taken on both sides to indicate a readiness and willingness to try to proceed forward and reduce the violence," Kerry said, when asked about heightened violence.