Israel's national flag flutters in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo November 4, 2014. An Israeli government committee on Monday advanced plans for 500 settler homes in East Jerusalem, an official said, in the face of disapproval from the United States at construction on occupied Palestinian land. The Interior Ministry panel's preliminary approval of the new homes for Ramat Shlomo, a neighbourhood built on West Bank territory captured in the 1967 war and annexed to Jerusalem in a move not recognised abroad, was kept low profile in an apparent bid to avoid friction with Washington. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (POLITICS)