Palestinian Authority official calls on US to compel Israel to freeze settlements
Palestinian Authority Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah called on the United States to compel Israel to freeze settlement construction, in a press release to Wafa, the official PA news site.
“It is not enough for the US to issue warnings about settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories,” Abu Rudeinah said on Thursday. “What is needed is a practical step that forces the Israeli government to freeze its settlement activities that threaten to destroy regional and international efforts to resume the peace process.”
On Wednesday the Civil Administration, Israel’s governing body in the West Bank, promoted plans for 463 settler homes. This included approvals for 50 new homes, the retroactive legalization of 179 units and the advancement of plans for a 234-unit senior housing project.
Following the announcement, a US official warned that settlement expansion “fundamentally undermines the prospects for a two-state solution, and risks entrenching a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict.