Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday, gave the order to advance plans for the construction of 1,060 new illegal housing units in occupied East Jerusalem.According to WAFA, the new housing units are set to be raised in two East Jerusalem settlements; 660 new units in ‘Ramot Shlomo’, 400 in ‘Har Homa’, as well as a new infrastructure project involving the opening of 12 new settlement roads in the West Bank.
Earlier this month, the Israeli government approved the building of 2,600 new settlement units in East Jerusalem, a move criticized by US officials in that the plan would ‘poison the atmosphere’.
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The criticism was rejected by Netanyahu who said that it is “against American values”.
Meanwhile, PLO Executive Committee member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi condemned the PM’s announcement, saying that it “exposes the true nature of this blatantly racist and extremist Israeli coalition”.
Mr. Netanyahu is interested in forging ties with extremist and violent settlers at the expense of the two-state solution and Palestinian human rights, Ashrawi further stated, concluding that “failure to put an end to Israeli violations will push the already unstable region into more “violence, chaos and instability.”
See this weekend’s Opinion/Analysis section for the latest on occupied East Jerusalem.
