Turkey has condemned Israel's decision to further expand settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry condemned Israel's illegal settlement activities in occupied Palestinian territory and its recent decision "to approve the construction of 380 new settlements in East Jerusalem despite all the warnings of the international community."
An Israeli building committee approved on Wednesday the construction of 380 new Jewish-only settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, out of which 307 houses will be built in the Ramot settlement and 73 in the Har Homa settlement, the Jerusalem Post reported.
According to the newspaper, the new housing units are part of a large-scale project approved in August 2011 to build some 1,000 settlement units in the area for which building tenders were issued in April 2012.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. It later annexed the historic city in 1980, claiming it as its capital, a move that has not been recognized by the international community.
International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlements on the land illegal.
"These steps that destroy the ground for a two-state solution and aims to create a de facto situation in occupied Jerusalem are in violation of international law and are unacceptable," the Foreign Ministry said in the statement.
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