GAZA, Palestine 

Egypt issued a statement Tuesday condemning Israel's decision to build a new settlement in East Jerusalem, calling it a "flagrant violation" of international resolutions. -

Cairo reiterates its firm rejection of Israel's settlement policies, which attempt to undermine the legal, historical and demographic status of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, calling on Israel to "halt its illegitimate settlement activities.”

The statement also emphasized the necessity for Israel to cease exploiting the world's focus on the war it is waging in Gaza to intensify its illegitimate practices in the West Bank, including settlement activities.

Israeli authorities are exploiting the war on Gaza to build a new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, the Israeli activist group Ir Amim said Monday

It marks the first settlement plan to be fully approved by the Israeli government since 2012, during which the Givat Hamatos settlement was approved, the group added.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio