The Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories at the Arab League, Dr. Said Abu Ali, on Thursday condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation authority to establish 2,300 new housing units in the West Bank. "The new resolution comes in the context of an unprecedented accelerated settlement attack in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, which constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international law, resolutions of international legitimacy and Israeli refusal to undermine the foundations of a two-state solution expressing legitimacy and the will of the international community," he said.
The European Union also rejected Israeli plans, saying in a statement that its position on settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories is clear and unchanged, stressing the need to stop illegal settlement activities, under international law, which undermine the possibility of a two-state solution and achieve lasting peace. "It looks forward to the full implementation by the Israeli authorities of its obligations as an occupying power under international humanitarian law, to stop the policy of building and expanding settlements, to allocate land for exclusive Israeli use, and to deprive Palestinians of their right to development," it said.
And built 650 new housing units in the settlement of "Beit El" east of Ramallah today, in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
