Abir Sultan, EPA / Corbis
After Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was willing to negotiate peace talks with Palestine, he is now taking a step in the opposite direction. The country’s Interior Ministry approved plans on Thursday to build 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, including on occupied land. The project infuriated the Obama administration when it was proposed last year. Palestinians are also angry over the news, as they were planning to seek recognition of statehood by the U.N. next month. One interior minister said the new units aimed to address a housing shortage that sparked protests last month. But the chief Palestinian negotiator condemned the construction as “further proof that [Israel’s] government is committed to investing in occupation rather than peace.” Netanyahu told visiting members of Congress on Wednesday that he would only commit to peace with Palestine “through direct negotiations.”