Former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qureia calls Israel's plan to build more housing units in Gilo the “final nail in the peace process' coffin”.

"This proves that the international community must realize that our statements regarding the collapse of the two-state solution are not slogans," Qureia urged.

On Tuesday, Israel announced plans to construct 900 homes in Gilo, one of a dozen settlements in the illegally annexed East Jerusalem Al-Quds in the occupied West Bank.

Qureia, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Executive Committee, warned the failed peace process would bring about "an eternal conflict that will lead the region and the entire world towards instability."

The Israeli move came under fire from the international community for complicating the already stalled Middle East peace negotiations and putting a kibosh on international peace efforts.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the controversial decision clearly illustrated "why hopes for salvaging two-state solution and restarting genuine negotiations are rapidly fading, and why Israel is not a partner for peace."

The Palestinians have been calling for a halt to the Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Al-Quds before any peace talks with Tel Aviv.

The Palestinians consider the Israeli-occupied land, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque — Muslims' third holy site — and the Dome of Rock, as the capital of their homeland, fearing Israel's continued settlement expansion on the land will ruin chances of establishing a viable Palestinian state.

Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, on the other hand, fiercely oppose admitting the Palestinian identity of the city, claiming a “God-given right” to Jerusalem Al-Quds as their “eternal capital”.

"Israel is looking to bolster the settlements at the expense of a solution that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state," Erekat added.

The Palestinian official called the latest construction move a “provocation against the international community” a slap in the face of the US, who has been displaying an unprecedented criticism of its closest Mideast ally to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

MRS/AKM