PARIS, December 1, 2011 (WAFA) - France condemned on Thursday the Israeli authorities’ decision to legalize the construction of more than 100 housing units in the settlement of Shilo in the West Bank, a significant distance east of the Green Line, according to a statement issued by the spokesman of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
He said that settlement activity is illegal under international law, threatens the two-state solution and constitutes an obstacle in the path toward a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
In a related matter, Ambassador Maged Abdel Fattah, Egypt's permanent representative to the UN, affirmed in a statement the need for the the international community, represented by the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations, to pressure Israel to halt all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
T.R./F.J.
