Israeli settlement plan deplored
- Source: Global Times
- [15:46 November 18 2009]
- Comments
The Israeli government drew criticism Tuesday by approving 900 extra housing units at Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem, which was Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the US was "dismayed at the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem."
Gibbs accused Israel of undermining Obama's efforts to restart the stalled peace talks. "At a time when we are working to relaunch negotiations, these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed," he said.
The British Foreign Office also opposed the Israeli move, saying in a statement that "expanding settlement on occupied land in East Jerusalem" makes the peace solution much harder, and the Israeli decision is "wrong".
Nabil Abu Rdaineh, aide to Palestinian President Mohmoud Abbas, said that Israel's decision "destroy the last chance for the peace process," according to Reuters.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denounced the Israeli move. "Such actions undermine efforts for peace and cast doubt on the viability of the two-State solution," said Ban's spokesman Farhan Haq in a statement.
The UN also criticized Israel for continued evictions and house demolitions in East Jerusalem as obstacles to peace. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Tuesday published a report listing Palestinian communities vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank in response to army operations to dismantle illegal structures.
Israel Army Radio reported Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to show "restraint" in construction in the West Bank, but rejects any restriction on building in Jerusalem, according to the Israel-based Jerusalem Post.
Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, but Israel denies Gilo is a settlement, arguing that it is a neighborhood of Jerusalem, its claimed capital.
