JERUSALEM, January 11, 2018 (WAFA) - United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Thursday that Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank is illegal and a major obstacle to peace.

“In the aftermath of the decision to advance over 1,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank, I reiterate that Israeli settlement construction is illegal under international law and is one of the major obstacles to peace," said Mladenov in a statement. "I urge the Israeli authorities to cease and reverse such actions."

The UN officials said settlement-related activities "undermine the chances for the establishment of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution. They entrench a one-state reality that is incompatible with realizing the national aspirations of both peoples.”

M.K.