RAMALLAH, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian national unity government slammed on Thursday the newly announced Israeli plan to build 1,100 new settlement units in northeastern Jerusalem.
The new plan in light of the ongoing tensions with Israel over Al-Aqsa mosque over the past days "adds oil to fire," a government spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud said in a press statement.
Al-Mahmoud accused the Israeli government of "insisting on pushing the situation towards more tension," adding that "it is against all efforts to achieve breakthrough in the political process."
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Thursday that the Israeli authorities will work on a plan to build 1,100 new settlement units in northeastern Jerusalem that would disconnect Palestinian neighborhoods and tear them apart, geographically.
The newspaper said that the new plan will expand the construction area in Jerusalem towards the east and connect it with two other settlements in Ramallah.
Al-Mahmoud called on the international community to move immediately "to condemn the dangerous Israeli escalation and hold the Israeli government fully responsible."
