An Israeli committee on Wednesday granted approval for a four-storey building for settlers in the heart of a Palestinian neighbourhood of the occupied east Jerusalem, an NGO said, ahead of a speech by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

While a Jerusalem planning committee postponed requests for building permits for nearly 500 homes in the occupied east Jerusalem, it went ahead with approval for the building in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, according to the Ir Amim NGO, which monitors settlement activity.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.