The Palestinians have sent a letter of protest against Israeli settlements to the United Nations Security Council.

The letter sent April 9 by Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour accused Israel of being insincere in its claims to be ready to make peace with the Palestinians, saying that the country’s “illegal and destructive plans” for building new settlements will prevent a two-state solution, the Associated Press reported.

Israel has rejected Palestinian demands that it stop all construction in West Bank settlements, including eastern Jerusalem, as a condition for restarting peace negotiations. Israel has said it is ready to resume negotiations without preconditions.

The letter came two days before a scheduled meeting in Washington of representatives of the Mideast Quartet made up of the United States, the U.N., the European Union and Russia. — jta