US Vice President Joe Biden has told the Israeli prime minister that the US condemns an Israeli plan to build hundreds of homes in disputed east Jerusalem.

After arriving in Israel and dining with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Biden issued a harshly worded statement questioning the timing of an announcement by Israel on the building of new settlements.

He said the announcement made late Tuesday that Israel would go ahead with construction of 1,600 new apartments, was especially troubling as it had come at a time of US-mediated peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

In his statement, Mr Biden said: "The substance and timing of the announcement is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now. We must build an atmosphere to support negotiations, not complicate them."

The announcement by Israel has proven to be an embarrassment to the vice-president, the highest-level member of the Obama administration to visit the region, who is there to try to patch up ties and help resolve the settlement issue.

Israeli ministry officials have tried to assure the US contingent that the settlement announcement was purely procedural and unconnected to the visit.

In the past, Israeli PM Netanyahu has rebuffed all calls from the White House to halt all settlement activity in its illegally annexed areas in east Jerusalem.