Israel oks new settler homes in east Jerusalem

Israeli authorities said on Tuesday they had approved the construction of 24 homes for Jewish settlers in occupied east Jerusalem in a move the Palestinians said would further threaten peace efforts.

The Jerusalem municipality gave its green light for the construction of four residential buildings on the historic Mount of Olives, a spokesman said, adding that the buildings would comprise 24 flats.

"As far as the municipality is concerned, building can begin," said Stephan Miller, spokesman for Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

The construction is part of a project launched by the Irving Moskowitz family, which has already built a religious school in the neighborhood and aims to help develop a strong Jewish presence in mainly Arab east Jerusalem.

"We condemn this decision in the strongest language and we condemn the Israeli government's continuing construction of settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP by phone from Doha, where he is travelling with president Mahmud Abbas.

"(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's government is talking about peace and negotiations in a way that is totally opposed to the reality on the ground where settlement activity is continuing," he added.

A 10-month moratorium on new building permits for settler homes in the occupied West Bank announced by Netanyahu in late November excludes construction in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.

Israel insists that the entire city is its "eternal, indivisible" capital, but Palestinians are determined to make Jerusalem's eastern sector the capital of their promised state.

Some 200,000 Jewish settlers live in east Jerusalem alongside 270,000 Palestinian residents.

Israel's continued expansion of settlements is one of the biggest obstacles to the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, now suspended for a year.

We condemn this decision in the strongest language and we condemn the Israeli government's continuing construction of settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat