Palestinian negotiation Erekat calls Jerusalem panel's approval of 500 new East Jerusalem homes a 'slap in face'; State Department says U.S. continuing to enagage with Israeli government to make its stance against settlement construction clear.

….
The United States on Monday condemned the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee's decision to promote a construction plan for hundreds of new housing units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, beyond the Green Line.

"It is unfortunate that after the unequivocal and unanimous position last week of the international community, opposing construction in East Jerusalem, at this sensitive time the Israeli authorities chose to move forward," said Jen Psaki, State Department Spokesman.

"We continue to engage at the highest level with the Israeli government to make our position absolutely clear – that we view settlement activity as illegitimate and that we unequivocally oppose unilateral steps that prejudge the future of Jerusalem."

The decision "flies in the face of Israel's statements about commitment to the two-state solution," Psaki added.

The construction plan is one of two in East Jerusalem declared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, reportedly as part of the response to Palestinian violence in the capital. The original plan for Ramat Shlomo was for 640 housing units, but the planning committee has only approved 500. The U.S. administration has already condemned construction in both areas.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat called the decision "a slap in the face."

….
Although the areas in question are privately owned, the plan was submitted to the district planning committee by the Jerusalem municipality and Moriah, a municipality-owned infrastructure company. Planning officials said Sunday they believed the submission was made by these bodies so the expropriation of land could be moved forward.

The new plan joins an older one to expand Ramat Shlomo that was approved by the district planning committee in 2010. That sparked a major diplomatic crisis with the United States because the approval came during an official visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Israel.