AFP Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the West Bank twon of Bethlehem yesterday.

BETHLEHEM (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday called on Israel to stop settlements construction.Brown has also offered additional financial support and police training to the Palestinian government.

The British leader said economic prosperity was key to peace, and urged an easing of Israeli travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce. He promised British support in developing housing, industrial parks and small businesses.He spoke at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. He is to meet later in occupied Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud OlmertBrown's two-day Mideast visit has been overshadowed by a claim from a Shi'ite armed group holding five British hostages in Iraq that one of the captives killed himself.Arriving in Israel, Brown met with Israeli President Shimon Peres. In a brief statement at the president's residence, he said the region needed an “economic roadmap for peace,” including the development of industrial parks and housing projects and support for small businesses.Brown said he supported those who understand that “the prospect of prosperity encourages people that the return to violence is something that is an unacceptable price to pay, and something that should be rejected.”