The spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reacted harshly to the announcement made on Wednesday by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for construction of housing units in the predominantly Arab east Jerusalem.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, said the announcement “destroys the peace process and sends the international community the message that Israel does not respect international law.”
Construction plans for eastern Jerusalem settlements were announced as 26 Palestinian prisoners were released.
The plans for construction were announced early Wednesday morning at around 1 am as 21 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails were greeted in Ramallah in the West Bank by thousands of family members and well-wishers. Also, as another five were reunited with their families in Gaza.
The plans reportedly were announced concurrently with the prisoner release in a bid to calm critics from the right.
According to reports, the construction plans include a national park in areas east of the Hebrew University’s Mount Scopus campus between the Palestinian neighborhoods of Isawiyah and a-Tur; the Kedem Center, a tourism and archaeological center in the Palestinian village of Silwan opposite the entrance to the City of David; renewing a plan initially announced in 2010 to build 1,500 housing units in Ramat Shlomo; and issuing permits to construct additional rooms on existing housing in Ramat Shlomo.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday blasted Israel's announcement to advance settlement construction in east Jerusalem.
Ban condemned as "contrary to international law" the move announced by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in conjunction with Israel's release early Wednesday morning of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners.
He added that further Israeli building in areas over the Green Line constituted "an obstacle to peace".
However, Ban stated his appreciation for Israel's undertaking the "difficult step" of releasing the second batch of pre-Oslo prisoners amid "deep domestic opposition" as a gesture for continuing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority.
He added that the UN expected parties to promote conditions conducive to a successful negotiation process and refrain from actions that undermine
Shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, Abbas greeted the released prisoners in Ramallah in front of Yasser Arafat’s mausoleum, where Abbas vowed that there will be no peace deal as long as there are Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The Palestinian president also denied that there was a deal with Israel with regard to settlement construction.
"There are some living among us who say that we have a deal (to release prisoners) in exchange for settlement building, and I say to them, be silent," AFP quoted him as saying.
The release came hours after Israel’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal against freeing the prisoners, who had caused the deaths of Israelis, saying it had no legal reason to stop the release.