The Palestinian leadership condemned Tuesday Israel's decision to build new houses in an east Jerusalem settlement.

"We strongly condemn this decision," said Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator.

Erekat noted that the approval of building 1,100 houses came after the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, known together as the Quartet, called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace negotiations immediately.

"By this decision, Israel says no thousand times to the Quartet and to the efforts to resume the peace negotiations," Erekat told Xinhua.

Israel "proves that it has selected settlement instead of peace," Erekat said.

The peace talks stopped last year after the Palestinians withdrew to protest an Israeli decision to resume construction in West Bank settlements.

The Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their state, which is being sought now through the United Nations.

The United States threatened to use veto to block the Palestinian bid for the United Nations membership. On Monday, the UN Security Council started discussions to look into the Palestinian application.