A senior Palestinian official  condemned Israeli plans to build new housing units in a settlement near east Jerusalem.

“The ongoing Israeli settlement activities confirm our credible and true attitude to sue Israel (at) the International Criminal Court (ICC),” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua.

Earlier, Israel approved the construction of 64 housing units in the northwestern part of the Israeli settlement of Ramot.

Erekat added that the expansion of settlement building activities would undermine peace efforts and ruin the principle of the two-state solution.

On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formed a committee to prepare for lawsuits to be filed with the ICC in April.

In late December last year, Abbas signed an agreement to join 20 international agencies and treaties, including the Rome Statute and the ICC, after the UN Security Council (UNSC) failed to approve a resolution for ending the Israeli occupation.

On Jan 30, Israel published tenders for building 450 new housing units in settlements in the West Bank. Erekat had slammed that move, terming it “a war crime”.