LOC16:05
13:05 GMT
RAMALLAH, Feb 24 (KUNA) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Monday blamed Israel for "isolating" Jerusalem after it announced plans for the construction of 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem.
"We strongly condemn Netanyahu's (Israeli prime minister) plan to build 1,000 settlement units in East Jerusalem," Shtayyeh said amid a government meeting.
Netanyahu's plan undermines the two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, added the Palestinian minister, who said the construction would account for more than 40 percent of the West Bank's land mass.
He said the US' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel should not give it the green light to go through with building new settler homes, renewing the Palestinian government's condemnation of Netanyahu's plan.
Netanyahu said last week he was reviving a plan for the construction of 3,000 new settler homes near East Jerusalem, which was put on hold after international opposition. (end)
nq.nam