Israel to push ahead with 454 new settler homes in East Jerusalem

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Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the marketing of land for the construction of 454 homes in two settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a government official.

The building of 436 of the housing units, in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo on land Israel occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, was approved in 2012, but the project was later frozen in an apparent attempt to avoid friction with Washington.

Palestinians carry an injured man during clashes with Israeli troops, after the funerals in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Credit: AP

US Vice-President Joe Biden publicly scolded Israel when construction plans for Ramat Shlomo, which is in territory Palestinians seek for a future state, were first announced in 2010 while he was visiting Jerusalem.

The Israeli government official, who asked not to be identified, said Mr Netanyahu gave the go-ahead on Monday to market 436 homes in Ramat Shlomo and another 18 in Ramot.

Palestinians protesters throw stones at Israeli troops during clashes in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Credit: AP

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli plan and settlement-building as a whole as a "flagrant violation of international law" aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state. The US also harshly criticised the decision.

"We view this kind of activity as illegitimate and counterproductive to the cause of peace," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters in Washington. "We remain deeply concerned about Israel's current policy on settlements, including construction, planning and retroactive legalisations, and we remain unequivocally opposed to these kinds of unilateral steps that, frankly, seek to prejudge the outcome of any negotiations," he added.

Ramat Shlomo and Ramot are in a part of the occupied West Bank that Israel annexed to Jerusalem in 1967 in a move that has not gained international recognition.

Mr Netanyahu, who has been pressed by ultra-nationalist coalition partners to expand construction in settlements, has said that Jews have a right to live in any part of Jerusalem.

A Palestinian protester uses a slingshot to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes in Ramallah on Wednesday. Credit: AP

News of the decision came a week after Mr Netanyahu held talks in the White House with US President Barack Obama in which the Israeli leader publicly reaffirmed his commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.

Mr Netanyahu has attached conditions to the creation of a Palestinian state, including Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Palestinians have rejected that demand.

Palestinian protesters run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes in Ramallah on Monday. Credit: AP

Some 500,000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank and East Jerusalem among 2.4 million Palestinians. The International Court of Justice says settlements Israel has built there are illegal, a view Israel disputes.

Reuters