Jerusalem, January 04: Israel has approved the construction of about 300 new Jewish settlement units in occupied East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Tel Aviv has already given the green light for the construction of one thousand settlement units in East al-Quds, which was annexed by Israel following the Six-Day War of 1967.
The Israeli announcement came on Tuesday, a few hours before Tel Aviv and Palestinian Authority (PA) envoys met in the Jordanian capital Amman.
The first meeting between the two sides in more than a year ended without any major breakthrough except for an agreement to continue the talks.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, who hosted the meeting, said, “The important thing is the two sides have met face to face today.”
“We agreed that the discussions will be continuous, that the meetings will continue and will take place here in Jordan,” Judeh added.
The gathering was held as part of the US-backed efforts to restart the stalled talks between Tel Aviv and the PA.
Earlier, the Palestinians had said that there would be no negotiations with Israel unless Tel Aviv stops expanding its settlements, which are illegal under international law. The PA said Tel Aviv had to freeze the construction and expansion of Jewish settler units or the talks could not continue. However, under intense US pressure, the two sides have resumed the talks.
——Agencies