A Jerusalem committee approved the construction of 900 homes in a Jewish neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem, a watchdog group said.

The homes will be built in the haredi Orthodox neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo following the approval by the city’s district planning committee, according to Peace Now, which monitors settlement construction in eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank.

“They’ve approved the request, and now they’re allowed to build,” Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran told the French news agency AFP on Thursday, the Palestinians’ Maan news agency reported.

The funding for the housing was approved in 2010 while Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Israel in what the Obama administration viewed as a sign of disrespect toward Biden.

The Obama administration opposes Israeli construction in disputed parts of Jerusalem and in the West Bank.