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Israel approves construction of 240 East Jerusalem al-Quds settler units

Wednesday, 08 November 2017 5:54 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 08 November 2017 5:56 PM ]

A picture taken on November 8, 2017 shows a general view of construction work in the Israeli Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem al-Quds. (Photos by AFP)

Israeli authorities have approved building permits for 240 new settler units in East Jerusalem al-Quds in flagrant violation of international law and blatant defiance of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the Tel Aviv regime’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Jerusalem al-Quds Deputy Mayor Meir Turjeman told AFP on Wednesday that a city planning committee approved 90 units in Gilo and another 150 in Ramat Shlomo settlements.

Less than a month before Trump took office, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, calling on Israel to “immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem” al-Quds.

About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

A picture taken on November 8, 2017 shows a general view of construction work in the Israeli Gilo settlement East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks collapsed in 2014. Among the major sticking points in those negotiations was Israel’s continued settlement expansion on Palestinian territories.

Trump backtracked on Washington’s support for a “two-state solution” earlier this year, saying he would support any solution favored by both sides.

“Looking at two-state or one-state, I like the one that both parties like. I’m very happy with the one both parties like. I can live with either one,” the US president said during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Washington on February 15.

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