Jerusalem, January 06: Israeli authorities have approved construction of four new residential buildings in the eastern part of Jerusalem Al-Quds, despite international calls for a cessation of activity where Palestinians hope to set up the capital of a future state.
The buildings, which are intended to house 24 families, will be built beside the decades-standing Beit Orot yeshiva in the contentious area east of the Old City walls, according to a report released by Israeli Haaretz newspaper.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared last week a plan to construct an additional 700 apartments in East Al-Quds, a move the White House called another blow to stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Tel Aviv is currently under intense pressure from the international community to halt the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Israeli settlements are widely considered the main obstacle in the way of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Under the 2002 Roadmap for Peace plan brokered by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to ‘dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and freeze all settlement activities.’
There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and 102 Israeli outposts built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967. The settlemetns are in direct violaton of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.
These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of approximately 462,000 Israeli settlers. Some 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around Al-Quds and an additional 271,400 are spread throughout the West Bank.
All such Jewish settlements are deemed illegal under international law because they have been erected on occupied lands that the Palestinians claim for a future state.
——Agencies