Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) welcomes US Vice President Joe Biden (L) prior to their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 10, 2010. Biden was meeting Palestinian leaders as his bid to bolster new peace talks was marred by Israel's approval of settlement expansion in east Jerusalem. Criticism of Israel's green light for the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in east Jerusalem mounted as Biden sat down for talks in Ramallah, the political capital of the occupied West Bank, following a day of similar meetings in Jerusalem. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)
