The EU said Monday it is "deeply dismayed" by Israel's plans for new West Bank settlements, a move which threatens to undercut peace efforts that instead should be revived.

The E1 project that calls for the construction of new settler homes on a strip of West Bank land outside Jerusalem has fueled a major diplomatic backlash, with experts warning it could wipe out hopes of establishing a viable Palestinian state.

The Palestinians are looking to reactivate peace talks with Israel with the aim of resolving all final status issues within six months, a senior official said on Monday.

Speaking to the official Voice of Palestine radio, negotiator Saeb Erakat said "a new stage" had been reached after the Palestinians successfully won non-member status at the United Nations.

Israel's ambassador to the U.S. has warned that any possible transfer from the Syrian regime of chemical weapons to Hizbullah would be a "game-changer," and said that would be a "red line" for the Jewish state.

"Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands -- Hizbullah's hands for example -- that would be a game-changer for us," Ambassador Michael Oren told Fox News Sunday.

Hamas chief-in-exile Khaled Meshaal, on the third day of a trip to Gaza, told students that different situations called for different measures -- from rockets to a truce.

He also renewed his call for efforts to implement a stalled Palestinian reconciliation deal between his Hamas faction and bitter rival movement Fatah, which is led by president Mahmoud Abbas.

With a snap election looming next month, the Israeli government and opposition traded barbs on Sunday over Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal's landmark weekend visit to Gaza.

The Hamas leader-in-exile's first-ever visit to the territory, during which he gave a speech pledging the movement would not cede "an inch" of historic Palestine, prompted anger in Israel and political recriminations.

The Israeli army committed a clear violation of the laws of war when it killed 12 Palestinians, including women and children, in an air strike on a Gaza home last month, Human Rights Watch charged on Friday.

The raid, carried out during Israel's eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense, was on the home of a family whose father, Mohammed Jamal al-Dallu, 29, the Israelis described as a "known terrorist".

The Israeli army committed a clear violation of the laws of war when it killed 12 Palestinians, including women and children, in an air strike on a Gaza home last month, Human Rights Watch charged on Friday.

The raid, carried out during Israel's eight-day Operation Pillar of Defense, was on the home of a family whose father, Mohammed Jamal al-Dallu, 29, the Israelis described as a "known terrorist".

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshaal made his first visit to Gaza on Friday, kissing the ground and saying he hoped he would one day die a "martyr" in the Palestinian territory.

After his seven-vehicle convoy swept across the border from Egypt, Meshaal got out and kissed Palestinian soil before embracing Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.

The European Union called in Israel's ambassador on Thursday to express its concerns over his country's plans to build thousands of new settler homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

A spokeswoman said Ambassador David Walzer met Pierre Vimont, number two in the European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, who underlined "the EU's concern about the Israeli announcement."

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is still a "serious partner" for peace despite his successful bid for U.N. non-state membership, Israeli President Shimon Peres told Agence France Presse in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

"I tried to influence him not to do it right now. I told him: look it's not the proper time to do it," Peres said. "But I still believe he's a serious partner and a serious man and I have respect for him."