Egypt slams Israel's new settlement plan in E. Jerusalem

CAIRO 

Egypt's Foreign Ministry on Thursday denounced a decision by Israel's Jerusalem municipality to approve plans to build 2610 settlement homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

In a statement, the ministry termed the decision "unconstructive" and said it violates the international law.

It also warned of the decision's "negative impacts" on the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.

The move "constitutes a major obstacle to efforts aiming to reach a final solution [to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict] based on the two-state principle."

The municipality on Wednesday said Deputy Mayor Kobi Kahlon has signed an order approving the buildings in the Givat Hamatos settlement in East Jerusalem.

Egypt has been mediating a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Following days of indirect talks, the Palestinians and the Israelis hammered out a temporary Gaza cease-fire deal on August 26 under Egyptian mediation, following 51 days of all-out Israeli attacks on the coastal Palestinian territory.

A second round of negotiations, due later this month, is now expected to focus on issues that remain unsettled from the first round of talks. These include the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the construction of an airport and a seaport in Gaza.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It unilaterally annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.

Palestinians accuse Israel of waging an aggressive campaign to "Judaize" the city with the aim of effacing its Arab and Islamic identity and ultimately driving out its Palestinian inhabitants.

International law considers the West Bank and East Jerusalem occupied territories taken by Israel in 1967, viewing all Jewish settlement building as illegitimate.

Palestinian negotiators insist that Israeli settlement building must stop before the resumption of stalled peace talks with Israel.

By Mohamed Rateb

www.aa.com.tr/en