US envoy delays Middle East trip; Israelis defiant

JERUSALEM - Washington's Middle East peace envoy delayed his trip to the region, as Israeli officials remained defiant on Tuesday over their plans to build more settlements in disputed east Jerusalem amid deepening feud between US and Israel.

Dozens of masked Palestinians also hurled rocks at police and set tires ablaze across the holy city's volatile eastern sector, where thousands of officers, including reinforcements brought in from other locations, were in place for a fifth straight day. Police said seven have been arrested so far.

The diplomatic crisis erupted last week after Israel announced during a visit by US Vice-President Joe Biden that it would build 1,600 apartments for Jews in disputed East Jerusalem, the sector of the holy city the Palestinians claim for a future capital.