Germany says East Jerusalem housing sets false signal
Berlin (dpa) - Germany criticized a new Israeli housing plan for East Jerusalem on Wednesday, and said the decision to build 1,600 new homes in the occupied West Bank land was "not acceptable."
"In terms of the content and the timing, this gives an entirely wrong signal," a spokesman for Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said of the plans unveiled by Israel′s Interior Ministry.
The ministry announced late Tuesday that the Jerusalem Planning and District Committee had approved the construction of 1,600 new homes in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood in northern Jerusalem, near the Palestinian village of Shuafat.
The neighbourhood is built on occupied West Bank land, but lies within the municipal boundaries drawn up by Israel after it annexed East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East War.
Germany would continue to work with its international partners to achieve a peaceful solution in the region, the foreign ministry spokesman said.
"All political efforts must focus on creating the conditions for comprehensive negotiations, to resolve the key issues in the conflict" the spokesman added.
Israel′s decision has raised tensions with the United States in the midst of a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, and sparked world-wide condemnation. dpa hm ncs