UN condemned Tel Aviv’s approval for the construction of 1,600 illegal units in the occupied territories

The United Nations has condemned Tel Aviv's approval for the construction of 1,600 illegal units in the occupied territories and called the move a “provocative action.”

A senior United Nations envoy Thursday called Israel’s announced plan to develop new housing units in East Jerusalem a “provocative action” that undermines international efforts to foster peace talks.

“If confirmed, this provocative action undermines ongoing efforts by the international community to bring the parties back to negotiations,” said Robert Serry, UN coordinator for the Middle East. He further added that the plan was both criticized and opposed by the international community after it had been announced last year.

Israel had earlier announced plans to develop new units in occupied East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as capital of their future State, including 1,600 units in Ramat Shlomo. Tel Aviv also plans to authorize the construction of a further 2,700 illegal units in the occupied land within the coming days.

Israel’s decision infuriated the Palestinians and brought sharp condemnations from overseas.

Peace Now threatened to bring Interior Minister Eli Yishai’s to the High Court of Justice over his decision to give final approval to the 1,600 apartments in Ramat Shlomo.

The announcement at the time of Biden’s visit poisoned the vice president’s trip, led to a dressing down of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and touched off a low point in relations between Tel Aviv and the Obama administration.

A State Department official, responding on Thursday to the announcement, said Washington believed “Jerusalem is one of the final status issues, and therefore the disposition of Jerusalem should be decided by the parties in negotiations. “Unilateral actions by the Israelis or Palestinians that appear to prejudice the outcome of the negotiations are counterproductive,” the official said. “These types of construction are illegitimate and not in the best interest of getting back to negotiations.”

France was also quick to condemn Yishai’s move, with a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying “settlements in east Jerusalem, as in the West Bank, are illegal under international law, regardless of the justifications, including their claimed response to socioeconomic imperatives. This decision represents an additional obstacle to a just and lasting peace in which Jerusalem must become the capital of both states, Israel and Palestine.”

Meanwhile, Jerusalem City Councilor Meir Margalit, who holds the east Jerusalem portfolio, called Yishai “a terrorist.” “To do this now, when it’s so tense, and everyone is making such a big effort ahead of September, throwing a bomb like this into the political situation really makes him a terrorist,” Margalit said.