Moscow is calling on Israel to scrap plans...

"According to media reports, Israelis plan to begin the construction of 700 residential buildings in East Jerusalem," Andrei Nesterenko said, adding that the plans were damaging for hopes for an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.

"We call on Israel to refrain from unilateral actions, which obstruct the resetting of the peace process," the Russian diplomat said.

The issue of settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, both occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, has been the main obstacle to reviving peace talks with the Palestinians.

Under the internationally agreed roadmap for Middle East peace, Israel is obliged to freeze construction and remove unauthorized outposts built since 2001 from the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian National Authority has refused to return to the negotiating table until construction is completely halted.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestine

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