The settlements Israel approved recently in occupied East Jerusalem are against international law, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Thursday.
"The settlements built by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories contravene international law, including U.N. resolutions," the ministry said in a written statement.
"These new illegitimate acts are aimed at rendering a contiguous State of Palestine physically impossible, while also seriously damaging the vision of a two-state solution and the ground for lasting peace," said the ministry.
The statement came after the approval of five settlement plans containing 3,557 new settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem by a local Israeli planning committee.
Israel has in recent years intensified its settlement activities in East Jerusalem.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as occupied territory under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.
There are more than 250 illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967. More than 500,000 settlers make life more difficult for Palestinians living under the occupation.
