Coordinated settlement construction must continue: Israel min.
Iran Press TV
Wed Nov 13, 2013 3:3PM GMT
Israel intelligence minister says settlement building in the occupied West Bank must continue in a "coordinated manner."
On Wednesday, Yuval Steinitz said Tel Aviv should continue the construction activities in "an intelligent and coordinated way.'
Steinitz made the comments one day after Tel Aviv announced plans for the construction of some 24,000 new settler units in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The plans drew international condemnation, including from Israel's longtime ally, the United States.
'We are deeply concerned by this latest report,' said US State Department spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, on Tuesday, adding, 'We were surprised by this announcement and are currently seeking further explanation from the government of Israel.... We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.'
Moreover, the criticism prompted Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reconsider the decision, noting that at a time when Tel Aviv is trying to persuade the West and Russia to take its interests into consideration, Israel must be coordinated in its actions.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts made to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1967.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
MAM/SS
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