A general view picture shows houses in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the occupied West Bank February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Wednesday called on the Israeli government to halt what it called “illegal settlement policies” on Palestinian land.

Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan, made the comment at a news conference in Ankara. Erdogan has previously condemned Israel’s decision to ramp up settlements in the West Bank as an “absolute provocation”.

Israel announced plans last month for 3,000 more settlement homes in the occupied West Bank. It has also retroactively legalized about 4,000 settlement homes built on privately owned Palestinian land, a move that brought condemnation from the United Nations and the European Union.