JERUSALEM — The Israeli government announced Wednesday that it had given final approval for 1,500 new apartments in a particularly contentious Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem and moved forward on plans for a controversial park and tourism center here, prompting Palestinian accusations that it is not taking the Washington-brokered peace talks seriously.

The construction approvals were an expected attempt to appease Israeli politicians and citizens outraged over the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of murdering Israelis. The men were released overnight under the agreement that began the talks this summer.

In recent days, some right-wing lawmakers and relatives of the prisoners’ victims denounced the idea that freeing criminals was an acceptable alternative to freezing settlement construction, as the Palestinian leadership originally demanded to enter the talks.

“The attempt to link the building with the release of murderers is cynical and morally wrong,” the Jewish Home Party, which led the opposition to the prisoner release and supports settlements, said in a statement. “It would be better if the prime minister will not release murderers and will not build. This appears to be a despicable attempt to release murderers and tarnish the settlement enterprise.”