UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon Tuesday deplored Israel's decision to expand Gilo settlement, built on Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, a statement issued by his spokesperson said.
Reiterating his opposition that "settlements are illegal," Ban called on Israel to respect its commitments under the Road Map to cease all
settlement activity, including natural growth.
The secretary-general "believes that such actions undermine efforts for peace and cast doubt on the viability of the two-State solution," the
statement said.
Early on Tuesday, the Jerusalem municipal planning committee approved the "Gilo's western slopes" construction plan, under which 900 housing units will be built in the form of 4-5 bedroom apartments, in an effort to lure more Israelis to reside.
The approval comes in the wake of a demand from the United States on Israel to totally freeze its settlement construction activities in the West
Bank as well as in east Jerusalem.
The United States voiced on Tuesday its objection, saying it was "dismayed" over Israel's approval to expand Jewish settlement construction
in Jerusalem.
Gilo, with a population of 40,000, is included within Jerusalem municipal boundaries demarcated by the Israeli government. Israel claims that Gilo is one of Jerusalem's neighborhoods, while the United Nations and the Palestinians say that Gilo is a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has not been internationally recognized, and the Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Israeli's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that his government will not halt construction in Jerusalem, while the Palestinians
insists that the long-stalled peace talks would not be resumed until the Israeli government totally freezes the Jewish settlement construction.