International concern over Israel’s decision to build 800 settlement units in the occupied West Bank
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his deep concern about Israel’s decision to build 800 settlements units in the occupied West Bank, considering that this constitutes a “flagrant violation.”
This came in a statement issued by Guterres’ spokesman, Stephan Dujarric, late Monday evening, in which he expressed “deep concern over the decision of the Israeli authorities to present plans for about 800 settlement units, most of which are located deep in the occupied West Bank.”
He also considered that “the establishment of settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, does not have any legal legitimacy and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.”
He warned that “settlement expansion increases the risk of confrontation, undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and eroding the possibility of ending the occupation and establishing a continuous, sovereign and viable Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 lines.”
The Secretary-General urged Israel to “stop and reverse such decisions, which constitute a major obstacle for achieving the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”
In the context, the British Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement, “The settlements are illegal under international law and risk undermining the possibility of implementing the two-state solution.” We call for an immediate halt to its construction in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank.
For his part, a spokesman for the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, Daifallah Al-Fayez, said, “There is no legitimacy for the Israeli settlements, which violate international law and international humanitarian law.”
The Jordanian official stressed the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities and take all necessary measures to stop the Israeli settlement policy that undermines efforts to resolve the conflict and achieve comprehensive peace and obligate Israel to implement international legitimacy resolutions, foremost of which is Security Council Resolution No.
Egypt and Qatar also condemned, in two separate statements, the Israeli authorities ’continued approval of building new settlement units in the Palestinian territories, and considered this undermining the peace process.
On Sunday, Israel approved the construction of 780 new settlement units in the West Bank, according to the Israeli “Peace Now” movement.
Source: Agencies
