US wants Israel to cancel building plan

---

JERUSALEM, Mar 15 (AP): Israeli officials said Monday that the US is pressing Israel to scrap a contentious east Jerusalem building project whose approval has touched off the most serious diplomatic feud with Washington in years.
Tensions in the city at the center of the spat were high, with police out in large numbers in Jerusalem's volatile Old City in expectation of renewed clashes.
Top US officials have lined up in recent days to condemn the Israeli plan to build 1,600 apartments in east Jerusalem, the sector of the city that the Palestinians claim for their future capital.
The project was announced during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region last week, badly embarrassing the US and complicating its efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.