In a positive but small gesture, Israel will postpone the official announcement of expansion until after Mr. Kerry leaves the region. Similar past pronouncements have been timed to coincide with visits by US leaders (in 2010, Israel enraged the US when it announced 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem while Vice President Joe Biden was there.)
The New York Times notes that the most recent settlement announcements were timed to coincide with the release of Palestinian prisoners, which are meant to be a goodwill gesture to show that Israel is serious about peace talks:
More recently, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has made a point of tying settlement announcements to the release of Palestinian prisoners in an effort to appease his right-wing coalition members. Israel agreed to release 104 long-serving prisoners, many convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis, in four groups as part of an American-brokered deal to resume the peace talks. The Palestinians have been infuriated by the linkage between the releases and the announcements and Israeli suggestions that they agreed to such a deal.