Palestinian official: Israeli new settlement activity in Jerusalem provoking

A Palestinian official said Thursday that granting new settlement units to Jewish settlers in the predominantly Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem is a provocative action.

"This is an open war against Jerusalem which is meant to judaize the city," Hatem Abdul Qader, Jerusalem's affairs chief from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party told Voice of Palestine radio.

The official held Israel responsible for the consequences of such policies, accusing the Jewish state of attempting to push the region into an endless cycle of violence through its practices and actions in Jerusalem.

The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem dedicated on Wednesday 60 new apartments from the second stage of a Jewish project in the heart of Ras al-Amud neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem.

The dedication ceremony was officially attended by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin in addition to a number of ministers and statesmen.

Palestinians want the eastern part of Jerusalem as a capital for their future state, while Israelis stress that the city is the undivided capital of Israel.

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