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Israel plans to build hundreds of settlement units in Al-Quds |
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Written by Islamic Times
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Monday, 02 June 2008 |
Defying international calls to halt settlement construction, Israel unveiled on Sunday, June 1, plans to build hundreds of settlement units inside Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem).
"We will invite tenders for the construction of 121 housing units in Har Homa and 763 others in Pisgat Zeev," Israeli Housing Ministry spokesman Eran Sidis told Agence France-Presse (AFP), referring to two settlements in Al-Quds.
The construction bid comes few days before the 31th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the holy city during the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel captured and occupied Al-Quds in 1967, then declared its annexation in a move not recognized by the world community or UN resolutions.
The holy city is home to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which includes Islam's third holiest shrine Al-Aqsa Mosque, and represents the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Under the internationally-backed roadmap, Israel must freeze all settlement activities and vacate all settlements constructed after March 2001.
Israel, however, never halted settlement construction.
Over the past few months, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has given the green light for at least 1,710 new housing units in the West Bank, 750 of them in Al-Quds.
Last year, Israel announced a 1.5 billion-Shekel plan to expand settlements inside the city and build three more to encircle it.
There are more than 164 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, eating up more than 40 percent of the occupied territory.
The international community considers all Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land illegal.
Legacy
The Israeli move drew fierce criticism.
"We strongly condemn this decision, which is a continuation of similar decisions to expand settlements that have never stopped," senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas described the decision a "dangerous threat" to the peace process.
"[The peace process] cannot advance without a complete and total halt to settlement activity," he said in a statement issued by his office.
The Palestinians want Al-Quds, home to 260,000 Palestinians, the capital of their future state.
The Israeli peace watchdog Peace Now also blasted the move.
"More settlements in Jerusalem will mean that the physical ability to have compromises between Israelis and Palestinians will be harder," director Yariv Oppenheimer told AFP.
"The only legacy Olmert’s government will leave is the expansion of settlements and turning Jerusalem into an unsolvable problem."
Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is facing mounting calls to step down over corruption charges.
Peace Now said in a recent report that settlement building has been on the upswing since the US-backed Annapolis peace conference in November.
"[It is] like a nail in the Annapolis peace summit's coffin."
Source: IslamOnline.net
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1209358102039&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
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Last Updated ( Monday, 02 June 2008 )
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