- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Israel Expanding Settlements in West Bank as 'It is Sure It Won’t be Punished'

© AFP 2023 / Thomas CoexA Palestinian boy walks past graffiti painted on Israel's controversial separation barrier in the Aida refugee camp situated inside the West Bank town of Bethlehem, on February 12, 2016.
A Palestinian boy walks past graffiti painted on Israel's controversial separation barrier in the Aida refugee camp situated inside the West Bank town of Bethlehem, on February 12, 2016. - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The United Nations has condemned Israel’s plans of building more settlements on the West Bank. The international body said that these “unilateral actions” were posing an obstacle to the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sputnik spoke with Issa Amro, Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of Youth Against Settlements.

“Palestinians are very disappointed with their government because they are not listening to anyone in the world, they don’t respect the 14 countries who signed the document stopping Israel from expanding their settlement. I think we should put more pressure on the government for it to stop this expansion and hold those accountable,” Amro said.

He further spoke about why Israel is disobeying the international community’s resolution by announcing the construction of 2,500 more homes citing housing needs.

According to the human rights defender, “Israel is sure that it won't be punished for building settlements in the West Bank” hence, they continue their expansion.

“The international community should punish Israel and hold it accountable for its actions. If even then they don’t stop it then there should be a complete action  on Israel and that is the only solution,” Amro said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks at a map of the area where Israel plans to build some 800 new housing units during his visit to the east Jerusalem Jewish neighborhood of Gilo. - Sputnik International
Israel Approves Construction of 2,500 New Housing Units in West Bank
He further said that the last resolution was great but “it lacked a concrete mechanism to implement it,” so he hopes that the international community can discuss how to find a mechanism for implementation of the resolution according to the international law.

Earlier, the US President Donald Trump signaled that he would be more sympathetic to the construction of new houses than his predecessor Barack Obama. Earlier in December, while the former President was still in office, the US declined to veto a UN Security Council resolution which demanded Israel immediately cease all settlement activities for the first time in history.

Talking about Trump’s position on this dispute, the human rights defender said that Trump “should work for peace rather than putting more obstacles in the way of the Palestinians. Moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is “against international law,” Amro said.

He further spoke about why Palestinians are really afraid of losing any possibility for a solution in the future.

Some 500 thousand Jews live in more than a hundred settlements built on the West Bank and East Jerusalem occupied by Israel in 1967.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала