Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved tenders for the construction of nearly 240 new housing units in areas of Jerusalem across the Green Line, Israeli media sources reported on Friday, Israeli Haaretz newspaper's website reported.
The Housing and Construction Ministry, along with the Israel Lands Administration, released its list of 3,500 newly approved tenders set for construction across the country.
The list includes 150 residential buildings in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot and another 80 in Pisgat Ze'ev. While both neighborhoods are technically set in the northern part of the city, they are considered East Jerusalem due to their location east of the Green Line.
Another 1,100 apartments will be built in the city of Netanya, 480 in Ashdod and some 450 in Tel Aviv.
This was the first time a tender has been issued for East Jerusalem since U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel last March, when it was announced that 1,600 housing units would be built in the area despite the settlement freeze.
The Palestinian Authority has insisted that it will not return to peace talks unless Israel ceases construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu offered earlier this week to renew its temporary freeze in the West Bank if the Palestinians were to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, but the Palestinian leadership was prompt to reject the proposal as insufficient.