Israel’s interior minister has given final approval for the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in occupied east Jerusalem

Israel's interior minister Eli Yishai has given final approval for the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in occupied east Jerusalem, his spokesman told AFP on Thursday.
  
Roei Lachmanovich also said the interior minister was set to give final approval for another 2,700 settler homes in east Jerusalem neighborhoods in "a couple of days." "He has approved 1,600 homes in Ramat Shlomo and will approve 2,000 more in Givat Hamatos and 700 in Pisgat Zeev," Lachmanovich said.
  
Palestinians "strongly condemned" the Israeli decision, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.

Erakat said the United States should respond to the planned construction by shifting its position on a Palestinian bid for United Nations membership.

He urged the United States and President Barack Obama "to reconsider their position rejecting the Palestinian move to go to the United Nations for recognition of a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with east Jerusalem as its capital." "We call on him to support this approach because it is the only way to preserve the two-state solution," he added.

The 1,600-house construction in Ramat Shlomo has already caused a diplomatic rift between Israel and Washington. It was first announced as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region in March 2010 for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to lay the ground for new direct peace talks between the two sides.