Palestinians say Israel not meeting commitments

ANKARA (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki accused Israel on Friday of failing to meet commitments made at peace talks relaunched at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November.

Malki, who also called for international pressure on Israel, said "nothing has happened" since the peace talks.

"Israel maintained its policies and actions on the ground as if nothing really happened ... We cannot allow Israel to behave the way it behaves, action has to be taken and international intervention has to be made," he said in a speech to Palestinian ambassadors to European capitals.

He was speaking in Ankara where he is holding talks with Turkish officials.

Palestinian leaders have voiced frustration at what they call Israel's failure to keep its commitments to freeze Jewish settlement activity and to ease checkpoints that limit Palestinian mobility in the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed in Annapolis to begin talks aimed at reaching a peace deal by the end of 2008. They also agreed to abide by a 2003 U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, under which Palestinians must rein in militants and Israel, among other things, must cease settlements activity.

Israel has argued it has supported the Palestinian Authority by releasing Palestinian prisoners, transferring Palestinian tax revenues and handing over security responsibility for the West Bank city of Nablus.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan criticized Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as the Jewish state's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, saying they were steps that "hamper peace efforts".

Israeli plans to build 1,100 new homes in and around Arab East Jerusalem came under fire this week from Palestinians, who see the city as the capital of their future state, clouding already troubled peace talks.

(Reporting by Evren Mesci)