Israel: 700 More Apartments in East Jerusalem Despite US Objections

On Monday, the government spokesman Mark Regev announced that Israel is planning to build nearly 700 new apartments in east Jerusalem. He said: "We make a distinction between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Jerusalem is our capital and remains such."

Following Regev's announcement, Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat said: "We condemn this Israeli policy of continuing settlement activities, and we hope this will be an eye opener for the US administration and other [governments]."

An unnamed Israeli official stated that the Obama administration had been informed about the latest planned construction. A State Department official followed up, telling The Jerusalem Post that Washington had conveyed its displeasure before  the announcement.

Israel-Palestine: Foreign Minister Lieberman “No Peace for 10-20 Years”
Palestine: Abbas “I Promise, No Third Intifada”

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "The United States opposes new Israeli construction in east Jerusalem", with the "permanent status issue" of the city to be resolved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. He continued:

Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations. Rather, both parties should return to negotiations without preconditions as soon as possible. The government of Israel noted its plans to issue tenders in east Jerusalem and we strongly objected, noting that these types of announcements harm peace efforts.