UN Secretary General has expressed his concern about Israel’s decision to build its completely new settlement in the West Bank.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo: ONU/Jean-Marc Ferré)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is disappointed and concerned about Israel’s decision to build its first completely new settlement on the occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
“The secretary general has consistently stressed that there is no Plan B for Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace and security,” spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, said on Friday. “He [Guterres] condemns all unilateral actions that, like the present one, threaten peace and undermine the two-state solution,” he added.
According to the BBC TV-channel, the Palestinians also condemned the Israel’s decision. According to a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO EC), Hanan Ashrawi, this decision proves that Israel is more inclined to appease its illegal settlers than to fulfill the conditions for maintaining stability and peace.
As the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported, the Israeli Security Cabinet announced the approval of the new settlement’s construction in the west bank of the Jordan River, which ahould become the first one in 25 years, on March 30. Reportedly, the settlement is going to be built in the area of Emek Shilo. People, who were previously evicted from the settlement of Amon, which had been recognized as illegally constructed, will be inhabited there.
Prior to this, the decision has been discussing with the US administration for three weeks. As the newspaper reported, citing a senior US official, the US side agreed with the plans of the Israeli government to build the new settlement by way of exception. According to the official, during the meeting in the US, US President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrain the plans on construction of new settlements, and the latter promised to take into account the Washington’s position. However, as the Israeli Prime Minister gave promises to provide new housing to people from Amona even earlier, an exception was agreed for their future settlement.
Israel has promised the US to build new houses without going beyond the existing line of construction as far as possible, as well as not to force the construction of settlements in order to give more chances for a diplomatic settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.