UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Wednesday called on Israel to immediately suspend its plans to expand settlements in the West Bank by another 2,400 housing units, stressing that it was a violation of international law and undermined chances for establishing a Palestinian state
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2019) UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Wednesday called on Israel to immediately suspend its plans to expand settlements in the West Bank by another 2,400 housing units, stressing that it was a violation of international law and undermined chances for establishing a Palestinian state.According to Mladenov, the Israeli authorities approved the advancement of nearly 2,400 settlement houses in the West Bank's Area C over the past two days.
"The expansion of settlements has no legal effect and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law. By advancing the effective annexation of the West Bank, it undermines the chances for establishing a Palestinian state based on relevant UN resolutions, as part of a negotiated two-state solution. It must cease immediately and completely," the official said in a statement.
The issue of Israel's settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan river is one of the main stumbling blocks that hinder progress in settling the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. Palestine has been demanding returning to the pre-Six-Day War borders, something that Israel refuses to do. In April 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex Jewish settlements after his re-election.
