Ambassadors of the "quartet" countries - Russia, the U.S. the EU, and the UN - were invited to the UAE Foreign Ministry, where they were told that Israel's actions "hinder the peace process in the Middle East and are at variance with UN resolutions, provisions of the Road Map for Peace, and the results of the Annapolis meeting," which took place in November 2007.
The UAE Foreign Ministry also urged the quartet to show "complete support for the legitimate Palestinian administration, led by [President] Mahmoud Abbas," in the interest of establishing peace in the Middle East.
Israel has said it would oppose any UN resolution on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has aggravated following Israeli military operations and a tightening of economic sanctions, including an Israeli embargo of Gaza, announced on Friday.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the operations in Gaza were an unavoidable act of self-defense, a response to rocket attacks by Hamas militants in the enclave. Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since seizing control of the territory from Abbas' Fatah movement in June.
"It is utterly unacceptable when the Security Council addresses the problems of Gaza residents while completely ignoring the situation of Israelis living under the constant threat of rocket attack," the ministry said in a press release.
Israel has begun the construction of 60 housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem - a move that looks set to worsen Palestinian-Israeli relations, the Haaretz newspaper reported last Tuesday.
Palestinian officials are concerned about widening Israeli construction in Ras al-Amud, which "makes it harder to create a Palestinian territorial corridor, a sort of 'safe passage' between the West Bank to the east, and the Temple Mount," the newspaper said.
Initial housing construction in the area sparked an international storm in September 1997, and Israel came under pressure by the U.S. to abandon its construction plan. Construction continued, however.
In December, Israel announced plans to build 300 new homes in East Jerusalem's Har Homa settlement, which already has some 2,000 Jewish homes.
The step drew criticism by the European Union, which joined the U.S. in condemning Israel's actions.
The so-called Road Map settlement plan proposed by international mediators in the Middle East peace process requires Israel to halt the construction of settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.
However, Tel Aviv insists the requirement does not extend to East Jerusalem - touted as the capital of any future Palestinian state.
