RAMALLAH, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Friday condemned Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz's approval of building 4,000 housing units at the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The move is "aimed at boosting settlement construction at the expense of the occupied State of Palestine," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.

Israeli settlements are "a violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions," it said, denouncing the move as "a serious threat to the chances of achieving peace and resolving the conflict in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution."

On Friday, the Israeli governing body that operates in the West Bank said in a statement that Israel's Civil Administration would advance nearly 4,000 housing units at Jewish settlements in the West Bank next week.

In response, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye warned of the serious consequences that would result from the Israeli government's approval of new settlements.

Ishtaye also condemned the Israeli decision to demolish 12 small villages in the Masafer Yatta region, south of the southern West Bank district of Hebron.

"These plans constitute a threat to security and peace in the region, which is in a state of tension due to the policies of persecution, racism, and ethnic cleansing applied by the occupation government against the Palestinian people," he said. Enditem

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