Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says Israel will go ahead with plans to build 3,500 housing units in its biggest settlement, Ma'ale Adumim. "We must link Jerusalem to Ma’ale Adumim," Sharon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The statement drew a rebuke from Washington. "We oppose the expansion of any settlement activity. That has been our view and that remains our view," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. He said the issue will be discussed when Sharon meets President Bush at his Texas ranch next week.