Tel Aviv, December 8 (RHC)-- Israeli authorities have approved the construction of more than 1,700 new homes, a non-governmental organisation says.  Half the “new neighborhood” comprising 1,738 housing units will be in the city’s annexed east, the Israeli NGO Peace Now said.

“If it weren’t for the [Gaza] war there would be a lot of noise.  It’s a highly problematic project for the continuity of a Palestinian state between the southern West Bank and East Jerusalem,” Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran told AFP news agency.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said that the plan by Israel is to “flood Jerusalem with settlements and settlers” and “separate it from its Palestinian surroundings.”

Israeli settlements in occupied territories are illegal under international law.  Tel Aviv does not recognize international law and flagrantly violates the UN Charter and all 

In 2016, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning Israeli settlement building, saying it has “no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.”