UN Envoy Criticizes Israel's Move to Expand Key Settlement
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The UN's Mideast envoy said on Monday he was "very concerned" by Israel's decision to advance construction in an illegal Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The Israel Land Authority announced on its website Sunday that it had opened up tenders for more than 1,200 new homes in the settlement of Givat Hamatos.
"If built, it would further consolidate a ring of settlements between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank," Nickolay Mladenov, the UN envoy to the Middle East peace process, said in a statement, AP reported.
"It would significantly damage prospects for a future contiguous Palestinian State and for achieving a negotiated two-state solution based on the 1967 lines, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states. Settlement construction is illegal under international law and I call on the authorities to reverse this step."
The Palestinian Authority and the European Union's foreign policy chief have also criticized the move. The Palestinian Authority wants a future state that includes East Jerusalem al-Quds and the West Bank, territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, and view settlements as a major obstacle to peace.
With nearly 500,000 illegal settlers now living in the West Bank, and over 220,000 more in East Jerusalem al-Quds, the PA says the chances of establishing their state are quickly dwindling.
