Western countries have criticised an Israeli decision to accelerate settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the Israeli move "provocative and unhelpful". France and Germany said it would hinder efforts for peace. Israel announced its intention to speed up settlement building a day after the Palestinians won full membership of the UN cultural organisation, Unesco. "This settlement building programme is illegal under international law and is the latest in a series of provocative and unhelpful settlement announcements," Mr Hague said in a statement. He also criticised Israel's temporary withholding of Palestinian tax...