In a speech to mark Jerusalem Day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to continue Israeli construction across the city.
"The struggle for Jerusalem is a struggle for truth," Netanyahu said in an address at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva.
"No other nation has the same ties as we do to Jerusalem – but there is also no nation that has allowed so much freedom of worship to others. We are building the city. We will continue to build it and ensure it thrives."
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat also talk part in Jerusalem Day ceremonies at the yeshiva, a self-proclaimed flagship institution for the religious Zionist movement.
Barkat said: "We will continue to build in all parts of Jerusalem. The promise of a future Jerusalem with a Jewish majority is a strategic mission for all of us."
Israel construction in East Jerusalem has been a source of tension with the Palestinians, as well as with Israel's ally the United States, and has threatened to undermine peace talks between the Netanyahu administration and the Palestinian authority, which resumed this week after being stalled for 18 months.