Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday he was pushing ahead with the construction of 5,000 new Jewish homes in key areas of east Jerusalem.

On a visit to the Har Homa neighborhood, Netanyahu pledged to build the homes there and in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood.

Netanyahu pledged to turn Har Homa into a “mid-sized city,” and expanding a presence that many believe has already dealt a devastating blow to the Palestinian dream of independence.

Building in the areas has previously sparked international outcry, which has at times reined in Netanyahu’s settlement building sprees. But emboldened by President Donald Trump’s support and his favorable Mideast plan, he appears to be charging ahead with construction there.

“We are connecting Jerusalem. We are connecting all parts of the united Jerusalem, the rebuilt Jerusalem,” he said. “We did it in the face of fierce international opposition. We surmounted all the obstacles and we have done it.”

Netanyahu said he was pushing forward with 5,200 homes for Jews in the area, in addition to 1,000 new homes for Palestinians who live in Jerusalem’s nearby Beit Safafa neighborhood.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, denounced the move as another of Netanyahu’s “attempts to destroy the two-state solution and any possibility of peace.”

“This is a grave violation of the international law which says that settlements in all the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, is illegal,” he added.

(AP)