The Israeli government has announced another new round of settlement construction in the Occupied Territories. Israel says it will build more than 800 new homes in Har Homa, a settlement outside East Jerusalem. Israel has previously agreed to halt settlement expansion under the US-backed Road Map. But it now claims the pledge only applies to those settlements it doesn’t ultimately want to keep. Israeli Interior Minister Meir Shitreet defended the new settlement expansion by citing biblical claims.

Israeli Interior Minister Meir Shitreet: “Har Homa is part of Jerusalem. It’s not a settlement. And one sometimes people are regularly forget Jerusalem is our capital, not since King David — Camp David, but since King David, so that claims that they cannot build in Jerusalem is totally nonsense. No one in the government of Israel ever stop building in Jerusalem.”

Israel has expanded settlements around Jerusalem since occupying it in 1967. Palestinian senior negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel should choose between settlement expansion or peace.

Saeb Erekat: “We condemn the Israeli government decision to build 820 settlement housing units. This is a flagrant violation of the Annapolis process. This undermines our effort to continue with the peace process. And President Abbas today personally contacted all the members of the Quartet, and he launched a very strong protest, and he intends to put this issue tomorrow when he meets with [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert. This cannot stand. The government of Israel has the choice either to continue the settlement activity or to continue the peace process. It cannot have both.”

It’s at least the fourth time Israel has announced a major construction project in occupied territory since the US-brokered Annapolis summit late last year.