RAMALLAH, April 26, 2017 (WAFA) – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Wednesday condemned Israeli plans to build 10,000 settlement units in Qalandia, in occupied East Jerusalem.
PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi strongly condemned the decision put forward by the Israeli Ministry of Housing and the West Jerusalem municipality, describing it as an affront to the international community and a violation of international law.
“This decision is a deliberate affront to the international community, a flagrant violation of international law, and a direct blow to peace,” she said in a statement.
“Israel‘s persistent attempts to expand its illegal settlement enterprise are a blatant mockery of the global rule of law and international norms. Clearly, such an announcement is part of the Israeli government‘s plans to annex all of Jerusalem, to erase the Palestinian presence in the city, and to destroy the territorial and demographic contiguity of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem),” she said.
Ashrawi said the decision attempts to pre-empt the upcoming visit of President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington and his planned meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump.
It is evident that Israel is rushing to create facts on the ground before the Abbas-Trump meeting, planned for May 3, she said.
“The two-state solution is a longstanding policy of the American administration, and Israel should not be given a free hand to subvert U.S. and international efforts to achieve this solution,” stressed the PLO official.
“Members of the international community, including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, are called upon to go beyond symbolic statements and slogans and to undertake their legal, moral and human responsibilities to hold Israel accountable. We also urge UN Secretary-General António Guterres to guarantee respect for UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSC resolution 2334, and to ensure Israeli compliance before it succeeds in totally sabotaging the chances for peace and stability.”
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