Turkey condemns Israel's settlement expansion

ANKARA

Turkey on Friday condemned the Israeli government's decision to approve hundreds of new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Tel Aviv granted approval on Wednesday for 300 new units in Beit El and more than 500 in East Jerusalem.

"It is impossible to accept such moves… which are contrary to international law and threaten the two-state solution," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Under international law, East Jerusalem and the West Bank are occupied territories and Israeli settlements built on the land are illegal. Western countries have called for the settlements - seen as major obstacles to peace talks – to be halted as Palestinians see the land as a basis for a future state.