Israel under increased pressure to halt settlement activities

JERUSALEM (CNN) - A day after Israel released nearly 200 Palestinian prisoners as an effort to reinvigorate the stalled peace effort, the Jewish state is under renewed pressure to halt its settlement activity.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is visiting the region, restated her position on Tuesday that building Israeli houses on disputed lands "undermines confidence between the parties."

"I've said it to my Israeli counterparts that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process," Rice said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "That in fact what we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties."