BRUSSELS (AFP) - Israel came under intense diplomatic heat Tuesday over its settlement activity in occupied east Jerusalem with Sweden warning it not to violate a Middle East peace plan.

The European Union's current Swedish presidency has warned Israel against any "provocative" action in east Jerusalem. The warnings come after it emerged that planning authorities had given the green light to a project to build 20 new apartments on the site of a former hotel in the Arab half of the Holy City.

"The presidency of the European Union urges Israel to refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem, including home demolitions and evictions, as stated also by the Quartet 26 June 2009," said a statement.

"Such actions are illegal under international law," it added.

The EU was concerned at the latest in a series of eviction orders issued to families in east Jerusalem, the statement continued.

"We have raised our concerns with the Israeli government and call on Israel to suspend these eviction notices immediately," it added.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy also repeated "the need for a complete freeze" of settlement activity after talks with Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, while Israel's ambassador to Paris was summoned by the foreign ministry.

However, Israel rejected the calls in separate statements from its ministers.

"The settlement should be stopped immediately in line with the roadmap," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said, referring to an international peace plan endorsed by the Israelis and Palestinians in 2003.

The apartments are due to be built on a site in Sheikh Jarrah, one of the most sensitive and upmarket neighbourhoods closest to the so-called Green Line which separates east and west Jerusalem.