Israel has approved plans for the construction of 40 new settlement units in one of the illegal settlements in the occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

The Israeli municipality authorities in al-Quds endorsed the constructions on Monday as part of a wider plan to erect 220 new houses in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement, Israeli news site Ynet reported.

The 40 apartments in question are to be built within four large buildings in the eastern section of the settlement, near the Hizma checkpoint.

In July, Israel endorsed 32 other units in the illegal West Bank settlement which lies on the borders of 1967, despite warnings that the move would further complicate the situation and jeopardize the prospects of peace in the Middle East.

The approval is yet another slap in the face of negotiators from the Palestinian Authority who have been demanding an extension of a partial, 10-month settlement freeze Tel Aviv announced last November as a precondition for direct talks to resume.

Palestinians charged Israel is not serious about peace in the Middle East as it continues to build settlements on land which Palestinian would be a future state under any peace agreement.

Israeli settlement expansions did not stop in East al-Quds even after the announcement of the moratorium which is now due to expire in September.

The international community has never recognized Israel’s annexation of East al-Quds after the occupation of the city during the Six-Day war of 1967, and deems all West Bank settlements as illegal.

(Press TV)