July 10, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1429

JERUSALEM, July 9: An Israeli commission has approved the building of 920 new homes in occupied east Jerusalem, the municipality said on Wednesday, in a new blow to shaky peace talks with the Palestinians.

The Palestinians reacted angrily to the new settlement expansion, warning of its negative impact on the peace process.

“The district commission has approved for construction 920 housing units in Har Homa,” a statement said, referring to a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Jabel Abu Ghneim, that has more than 10,000 residents.

The Har Homa project is part of a plan to build some 40,000 new homes over the next decade in neighbourhoods in both east and west Jerusalem, that the housing minister approved in June, a ministry official said. Until now, specific aspects of the project were unknown.—AFP