The US will reportedly relay a message to Israel in a bid to persuade the regime to stop settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

The British daily Independent reported on Saturday that Washington will send four senior foreign policy and security figures to Israel this coming week to ask Tel Aviv to completely freeze the settlement work.

The move comes as the issue of the settlement construction has turned into a friction point between the two allies with the Obama administration signaling that it is willing to adopt a firmer policy to deal with the issue.

The new Israeli government led by right-winger Likud party has been insisting on the continuation of construction activities in the West Bank despite its obligations to freeze all such activities.

Tel Aviv claims the activities are aimed at meeting "the natural growth" in settlements.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic team will also convey another US message that any plan to attack Iran should be abandoned by the hardline regime as Obama pursues a policy of engagement with Tehran over its nuclear program, the report added.

The US and Israel accuse Iran of developing nuclear arms, a charge Iran dismisses. While there are speculations that Israel might attack Iran over the disputed program, US military advisors say such an attack will only cause troubles.

SB/MD