Israeli decision to expand settlements in Jerusalem outrages Palestinians

Israel's approval of new settlement construction in East Jerusalem on Wednesday outraged the Palestinians, who considered the planned settlement expansion an attempt to undermine the U.S. efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. Nabil Abu Rdineh, a media aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a press statement that the decision "indicates that Israel is still insisting on obstructing the U.S. efforts, which aim at creating a track that leads to establishing an independent Palestinian state." "No peace without Jerusalem and any settlement there is going to be removed sooner or later," Abu Rdineh stressed. Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement that the Israeli decision is aims at blowing up the U.S. and international efforts, adding "despite expansion of settlements, east Jerusalem will remain the capital of the Palestinian state in accordance to the principle of the two-state solution." The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state, to be established on the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Erekat said that since the direct peace talks were resumed in late July, Israel has built up 10,000 housing units in the settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Under the mediation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were resumed in late July and are expected to end in April, but no tangible progress has been achieved so far because of huge differences over outstanding issues.