Palestinian Presidency on Thursday slammed the Israeli Prime Minister for laying cornerstone for new settlement units in a West Bank , Palestinian official news agency (WAFA) reported.
Nabil Abu-Rudeinah, Palestinian President’s spokesperson, condemned Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for laying foundational stones for over 1,000 units in Beitar Illit settlement located south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Abu-Rudeinah said that the settlements were unlawful and East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza Strip are all Palestinian territories, in response to statements by Netanyahu in which he reportedly said that the West Bank and East Jerusalem are part of Israel.
“Settlement are basically illegal and the Israeli government has to immediately stop its destructive approach to the two-state solution,’’ he said.
He also condemned Israel’s announcement of evicting a family in the East Jerusalem town of Sheikh Jarrah for the benefit of Israeli settlers.
The spokesperson urged the international community, especially the U.S., to interfere and to stop Israeli settlement activity, warning that this might lead to uncontrollable consequences.
Beitar Illit is the second largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, built since 1990 as part of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the south of the West Bank, with nearly 50,000 residents.
Netanyahu attended a cornerstone-laying ceremony in the West Bank on Thursday in Tel Aviv for the construction of 1,100 new residences for the Orthodox Jewish community, Israeli radio reported.
The residences will form a new neighbourhood in the Beitar Illit settlement.
Netanyahu said: “we stand resolute across the country in our support for the settlement,” Netanhyau said, according to a statement from his office.
“There is no government that undertakes more for the settlement in the land of Israel than this government under my leadership.”
Netanyahu has said he supported the establishment of a demilitarised Palestinian state and officially maintains this stance.
According to a report from Israel’s Army Radio, Likud party boss and Netanyahu confidant Tzachi Hanegbi said the premier has long-since moved away from a two-state solution. (Xinhua/NAN)