Israel's decision to allow construction of 238 new housing units violated international law and contradicted efforts by the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia to settle the Middle East conflict, a UN official said Monday, DPA reported.
The Israeli decision, made last week, has made the quartet's efforts "more difficult" to realize, the UN assistant secretary general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez Taranco, told the UN Security Council.
"The UN secretary general continues to believe that, if the door to peace closes, it will be very hard to reopen," Taranco said.
"There is no alternative to a negotiated settlement resulting in the creation of an independent and viable State of Palestine living side-by-side with the State of Israel in peace and security."