Arab League (AL) Secretary General Amr Moussa on Tuesday condemned a new Israeli bid to build new settlement units in East Jerusalem.

In a statement, Moussa said that the new decision reflects the Israeli intentions from freezing settlements and confirms it is planning to expand Judaizing East Jerusalem.

Moussa called on the international community and the UN Security Council to take the responsibilities to halt the Israeli actions in the occupied lands, adding that these actions will obstruct the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The statement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Cairo Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on US efforts to revive the stalled Middle East peace talks.

On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing announced it is seeking bids for construction of about 700 new apartments in East Jerusalem.

The tenders will include 692 housing units in three Jewish communities in East Jerusalem and they are expected to be finished in two or three years, according to a ministry spokesman.

Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, are considered by international community as Israeli settlements and one of the main obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2009)