The Israeli government is set to approve the construction of 1,531 settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem next week, a plan that was frozen years ago after criticism from the US administration.
According to Israel's Channel 10, instructions have been issued to the Israeli District Committee for Planning and Building to erect 1,531 settlement units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
The project was first introduced in 2010 during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden to the region, but the Israeli government later decided against it after it drew strong criticism from Washington.
The new Ramat Shlomo settlement project was reintroduced in late 2012, after the UN General Assembly voted for granting Palestine non-Member Observer State status.
The Israeli government has yet to officially comment on the report.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it – with West Jerusalem – as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
Some 200,000 Israeli settlers currently live in a number of Jewish-only settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures.
International law considers the West Bank and East Jerusalem "occupied territories," deeming any construction of Jewish settlements on the land illegal.
Palestinian negotiators insist that Israeli settlement construction must end before stalled peace talks – which broke down last year – can resume.
