RAMALLAH, October 15, 2010 (WAFA)- The Presidency condemned Friday the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approval of tenders for 238 homes in the West Bank settlements.

Presidency Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeina told WAFA that this approval undermines the continuity of the Middle East peace process.

He called upon the international community to pressurize Israel to halt all settlement activities, warning that failure of the peace process would inflame an indefinite cycle of violence in the Middle East.

For his part, Head of the PLO negotiation Department Saeb Erekat accused Netanyahu of attempting to foil the peace process. 'The Netanyahu government is determined to thwart any chance of resuming direct negotiations.'

'This is a crushing blow to the United States' efforts to prevent the peace process from collapsing,' Erekat added. 'Israel is turning its back to the Arab who gave the Americans a month to find a solution.'

The Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry, along with the Israel Lands Administration, released its list of 3,500 newly approved tenders set for construction across the country.

The list includes 150 residential buildings in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot and another 80 in Pisgat Ze'ev. While both neighborhoods are technically set in the northern part of the city, they are considered East Jerusalem due to their location east of the 1967 borders.

Another 1,100 apartments will be built in the city of Netanya, 480 in Ashdod and some 450 in Tel Aviv.

This was the first time a tender has been issued for East Jerusalem since U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel last March, when it was announced that 1,600 housing units would be built in the area despite the settlement freeze.