IRELAND EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT AT ISRAEL'S NEW SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

  • News
  • January 20, 2021
IRELAND EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT AT ISRAEL'S NEW SETTLEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney expressed extreme disappointment at the announcement earlier this week by the Israeli authorities regarding a further 800 housing units within Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

"settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal under international law," he said in a press statement.

"I continue to be very concerned about the tender for construction of a new settlement of over 1,200 housing units in Givat Hamatos," he said.

The expansion of settlements in this strategically sensitive area between Jerusalem and Bethlehem will undermine the viability and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian State and the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with internationally agreed parameters stressed the statement.

"I reiterate my call on the Israeli Government to reverse this decision and to halt all settlement activity. I urge all parties to respect international law and to avoid unilateral actions which erode trust and confidence - critical components to the resumption of meaningful negotiations - between the parties," the statement concluded.

Picked for you

Hayek calls for lifting ban on entry of raw materials to Gaza

Hayek calls for lifting ban on entry of raw materials to Gaza

Ali al-Hayek, head of the Palestinian Businessmen Association, has called for necessarily lifting the Israeli ban on the entry of many raw materials and construction needs to the Gaza Strip on allegations they are dual-use goods. In a press release, Hayek also stressed the need to end the UN-sponsored reconstruction mechanism in Gaza, known as “GRM,” saying such mechanism led to disastrous... Read more