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Russia expressed “serious concern” Tuesday over an Israeli decision to build 1,300 new settler homes in occupied east Jerusalem.
“Moscow treats this decision with the most serious concern,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“We find it essential that the Israeli party refrained from the declared construction and on the whole kept to a moratorium on settler activity on the west bank of the Jordan river and in East Jerusalem,” the ministry said.
Israel’s decision to approve the new homes in east Jerusalem on Monday sparked a furious reaction from the Palestinians, who accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging peace talks.
Moscow has slowly repaired its relations with Israel since backing the Palestinians throughout the Cold War.