Israel unveiled plans for 3,200 settler homes on Thursday in retaliation for the formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by Hamas.
Tenders for nearly 1,500 new settlement houses and plans to advance about 1,800 others were issued just 72 hours after the new Palestinian government was sworn in, ending seven years of rival administrations in the West Bank and Gaza.
Western states have shown support for the Palestinian lineup, but Israel says it will boycott what it denounces as a “government of terror.”
Photo: AFP
The news drew a furious reaction from the Palestinians, who pledged to seek an anti-settlement resolution at the UN Security Council.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was “deeply concerned” by the reports of the new tenders.
“The secretary-general calls on Israel to heed the calls of the international community to freeze settlement activity and abide by its commitments under international law and the roadmap,” Ban’s spokesman said.
The EU said it was “deeply disappointed” by Israel’s plans.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to reverse this decision and to direct all their efforts toward an early resumption of the peace talks,” it said. “This move is unhelpful to peace efforts.”
However, Israel rejected the criticism, with an unnamed official saying it was “strange” there were members of the international community who say a Palestinian unity government, backed by the militant Hamas movement, could promote peace.
“At the same time, there are those in the international community who say that construction in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital, and other sites [that] even the Palestinians know will stay under Israeli sovereignty in any future agreement are moves that should be taken back,” a statement read.
Of the 1,454 tenders, 400 homes are to be built in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the rest in the occupied West Bank in what Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel described as “a fitting Zionist response to the establishment of the Palestinian government of terror.”
“I believe these tenders are just the beginning,” he added. Hours later an Israeli official confirmed the government had moved to unblock plans for another 1,800 homes.
“The political echelon has ordered the civil administration to advance 1,800 new units,” the official told reporters, referring to an Israeli defense ministry unit responsible for West Bank planning issues.
Hanan Ashrawi of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said: “The executive committee of the PLO views this latest escalation with the utmost of seriousness and will counter it by addressing both the UN Security Council and the General Assembly as the proper way of curbing this grave violation and ensuring accountability.”
“Those who fear the international courts should stop their war crimes against the Palestinian people, first and foremost of which is settlement activity,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said.
Nimr Hammad, political adviser to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, demanded the US take “serious steps” against Israel.
“Netanyahu is a liar and is not interested in the two-state solution,” he told reporters, saying that the Israeli leader wanted “to push the Palestinians into one of two options: either a confrontation, or ... to go to the United Nations.”
Erakat said the new tenders were “a clear sign that Israel is moving towards a major escalation, such as ... the annexation of occupied territory and forcible transfer.”
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