RAMALLAH, February 1, 2011 (WAFA) – Saeb Erekat, head of the Negotiations Affairs Department, Tuesday accused Israel of sabotaging peace efforts with its settlement activities and killing of Palestinians in the West  Bank.

Settlement activity has continued unabated, he said in a statement issued by his office.

“Only yesterday, a cornerstone was laid for a new illegal settlement in East Jerusalem.  The ceremony was attended by several Israeli government officials and American political figure, Mike Huckabee,” he said.

“During the last week, a Palestinian teenager was murdered by settlers who attacked him while he tended his land outside of Nablus.  Another teenager was killed when settlers raided his village outside of Hebron.  Dozens more were injured by illegal settlers and the Israeli authorities,” he added.

“These incidents are only recent examples of the unprecedented and escalating violence in the occupied Palestinian Territory,” he said.

“Such illegal activities render the two-state solution impossible and further threaten regional stability,” he said.

Erekat urged to “take active steps to end Israel’s occupation,” saying that the upcoming quartet meeting in Munich, Germany, on February 5 “is a golden opportunity to put words into action, recognize the Palestinian state on the 1967 borders and change our regional dynamics for the better.”

He said, “I cannot understand Israel’s thinking-- rather than re-evaluating their stance given the changing regional dynamics, Israel continues to entrench its belligerent occupation of the Palestinian people and the colonization of our land.”

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