Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank amount to a war crime, a UN human rights investigator said on Friday, calling on countries to inflict a cost on Israel for its "illegal occupation".

Qatar has reiterated that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, besides being an obstacle to peace and economic and social development, and threatens the two-state solution.

The UN has released a list of 112 companies with activities in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, including Airbnb, Expedia and TripAdvisor.

The Irish Senate gave its support Wednesday to a draft law prohibiting the import of goods produced in occupied territories around the world, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.

A senior Palestinian official on Tuesday said silence in US President Donald Trump's administration over settlement growth and its failure to support the two-state solution encouraged "apartheid" Israeli policies.

Israel signed an agreement with China on Sunday to bring in 6,000 Chinese construction workers as the country seeks to address a housing shortage contributing to high property prices.

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak Sunday for the first time since his inauguration, with Israel already taking advantage of his support by pushing through settlement plans.

Israeli border police shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian youth during a clash with protesters in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Wednesday that Israel's building of settlements was endangering Middle East peace, expressing unusually frank frustration with the long-time American ally.

Benjamin Netanyahu has been unrelenting in his criticism of the Obama administration over what he condemned as its "shameful" decision not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement-building.

Israel on Sunday summoned representatives of states that supported a UN resolution demanding it halt settlement activity, while cutting civilian coordination with Palestinians by way of rebuke.

The Obama administration has not been involved in crafting or promoting a UN resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, a senior US official said on Friday, denying Israeli accusations the United States was behind the effort.