Israel approves new homes in Jerusalem settlement amid violence

Israel has given a final approval for the construction of 153 housing units in a Jewish settlement neighborhood in Jerusalem, officials said on Wednesday.

The approval was made as tension is running high in Jerusalem, amid four-day clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians over the Jews' rights to visit the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound.

Sapir Peles, a spokeswoman with the Jerusalem Municipality, told Xinhua that the housing units are planned to be constructed as part of a new country club in the settlement neighborhood of Ramot, northeast of Jerusalem.

She added that the city's Local Committee for Planning and Building has decided to issue the permits after a preliminary plan was approved in 2009.

The committee also revised building permits for additional housing units in Ramot, which were originally approved last year, allowing the contractor to add porches to 243 units.

Hagit Ofran, a researcher with the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, told Xinhua that the permits means the construction could begin within a few days.

"Expanding settlements is fanning the flames at a volatile time in the Temple Mount," she said, referring to the Israeli term for Haram al-Sharif, were the al-Aqsa mosque is located.

Dozens of Palestinians and Israeli officers were injured over the past week, as police raided the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif compound in order to allow Jewish visitors to the holy site. Jews revered the place as the site of their biblical temple. Palestinians consider such visits as a provocation.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 Mideast War and has been controlling it ever since.

The Jewish settlements are constructed on lands considered by the Palestinians as their future state. International law deems the settlement as illegal. Endit