Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud AbbasFlash 90

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Thursday said it rejects and condemns the Israeli government's recent plan to build 2,200 new housing units in Judea and Samaria.

"The move is in violation of all international legitimacy resolutions, mainly the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which clearly affirms the illegality of building settlements in all the Palestinian territories," said a statement by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' office, quoted by Xinhua.

The statement said the Israeli plan contradicts the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993.

"Any Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territory will not be allowed or be legalized," it added.

The statement called on the US and the international community "to work seriously and immediately to stop the Israeli persistence, which, if it continues, will increase tension and instability."

The statement condemned the new construction even though it also includes plans for the construction of 1,000 housing units for Palestinian Arabs in Area C.

On Thursday, the heads of the Yesha Council criticized the approval of the construction of homes for Palestinian Arabs.

"The Jewish settlement in the heart of our ancestral homeland does not need Arab construction to make it 'kosher' and does not need to be dependent on approvals for the Arab population," said David Elhayani, head of the Yesha Council.