The Zionist government has approved plans to build 381 new settlement units in a ear annexed east Jerusalem.

The Zionist government has approved plans to build 381 new settlement units in a ear annexed east Jerusalem, settlement watchdog Peace Now told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

"The Israeli civil administration, which falls under the defense ministry, has published plans for the construction of 381 extra units in Givat Zeev," said spokesman Lior Amihai, referring to a settlement just south of Ramallah.

It was the third such announcement in as many weeks, and followed the release on December 31 of 26 veteran Palestinian prisoners from Zionist jails, in accordance with commitments under the US-led peace talks.

On January 6, the entity of occupation approved plans for 272 new settlements in various West Bank settlements, and four days later it unveiled plans for more than 1,800 new units in both the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Direct peace negotiations have been under way for almost six months but the Jewish entity has not slowed its construction on land the Palestinians want for a future state, raising questions over its commitment to the talks.

Peace Now said the new construction proved the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "not serious about the two-state solution and that its actions are contradictory with the negotiations."

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has frequently lashed out at the Zionist settlement building, and last week, four key EU member states summoned the Zionist ambassadors over the plans for another 1,800 settler homes.

The international community considers all Jewish settlements built on land seized in 1967 to be illegal.