JERUSALEM, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday vowed to build thousands more housing units in a West Bank's Jewish settlement.
Speaking during a visit to the Ma'ale Adumim, one of the largest settlements in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu announced "a wave of enhanced developments" there.
"We will build here thousands of housing units," he said. "We will add the industrial zones needed and the expansion needed to enable the accelerated development of this place."
"This place will be part of the State of Israel," he stressed.
Netanyahu gave no timetable for the construction or other specific details. However, he said Israel has just approved the planning of 1,200 new housing units and "intended to add more."
His remarks triggered Palestinian condemnation, with Nabil Shaath, a senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, describing them as "totally unacceptable."
"This is an attempt by Netanyahu to destroy the two-state solution and a clear refusal of any attempt to revive the peace process, especially by the United States," he told local media.
The settlements are located in the West Bank, a territory Israel seized, together with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state. The international community sees the settlements as a violation of international law and a major hurdle to peace.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes a softer stance on the settlements than his predecessors. Still, Trump has asked Netanyahu to "slow down a bit" on the expansion of settlements.
In March, the Israeli government postponed a new legislation to annex Ma'ale Adumim to the Jewish state by announcing it as part of the district of Jerusalem, a move widely perceived as the result of pressures from the White House.
