Washington: US have expressed regrets over the latest Israel’s decision which authorized a plan for the construction of 1,100 illegal settlement units in the Gilo neighborhood of East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to formally consider the Palestinian bid for statehood and full UN membership.
Israeli officials said the plan is one of the phases of a multi-year process for the expansion of the Gilo neighborhood.
According to Israeli officials, the project is expected to return to the district planning committee for final discussion.
In September 2010, Israel resumed expansion of illegal settlements in Palestine after a 10-month partial freeze, prompting the Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders to break off the US-sponsored talks with the Tel Aviv regime that had been resumed after a lengthy stalemate.
Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that new talks with the Israeli regime will not resume unless there is a complete halt in settlement expansion activities.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a freeze on the illegal process on Monday, saying there was “no need for another moratorium on settlement construction.”
Abbas has also rejected a proposal by the so-called Middle East Quartet — consisting of Russia, the EU, the UN, and the US — that calls for unconditional talks with Israel, describing it as unacceptable.
On Friday, the Quartet called for the resumption of stalled talks between Israel and the PA within a month so that a final agreement can be reached by the end of 2012.
Abbas officially submitted his bid for UN recognition of a Palestinian state to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
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