The UN's Mideast envoy says he is he "very concerned" by Israel's decision to advance construction in an East Jerusalem settlement that would make it even harder to establish a contiguous Palestinian state.
"If built, it would further consolidate a ring of settlements between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank," said Nickolay Mladenov.
"It would significantly damage prospects for a future contiguous Palestinian State and for achieving a negotiated two-state solution based on the 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. Settlement construction is illegal under international law and I call on the authorities to reverse this step."