WASHINGTON, July 30, 2015
(WAFA) – The United States Department of State as well as the Egyptian Foreign
Ministry condemned Thursday the Israeli government’s approval of plans to
construct 300 housing units in the illegal settlement of Beit El, built on
Palestinians’ property near the city of Ramallah.
Deputy spokesperson of the US
State Department, Mark Toner, said he is deeply concerned about the Israeli government's
announcement to build some 300 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of
Beit El, as well as hundreds [500] of new housing units in East Jerusalem.
Toner reiterated the United
States’ position against settlements construction and expansion in the West
Bank and Jerusalem.
He said, “Settlement expansion
threatens the two-state solution and calls into question Israel's commitment to
a negotiated resolution to the conflict. We continue to urge the Israeli
government to refrain from unhelpful actions that undercut the possibility of a
two-state solution.”
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Foreign
Ministry said such a decision obstructs international efforts to revive peace
talks based on the two-state solution and the international terms of reference.
Bader Abdul-Ati, spokesman of
the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, warned that Israel’s decision goes in violation
of the Fourth Geneva Convention and the relevant United Nations’ treaties,
which prohibit the occupying power from conducting geographic or demographic
changes in the territories it occupies.
Though it has been
Israel’s strongest ally worldwide, the United States’ firm position was that
settlement activity in the West Bank handicaps efforts made to revive peace talks
with the Palestinians and undermines peace based on a two-state solution. It
has continuously expressed concern over Israel’s settlement construction and expansion.
The Security Council,
the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the International Court of
Justice have all confirmed that the construction and expansion of Israeli
settlements and other settlement-related activities in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory are illegal under international law.
M.N/M.H
