[ 10/03/2010 - 11:14 AM ]
In a press release, Hamas added that Israel’s decision to build this number of units just one day after announcing the construction of 112 others in West Bank settlements confirmed what it had said before that the resumption of peace talks with Israel would provide it with the cover to persist in settlement and Judaization activities.
Hamas also underlined that the decision to resume negotiations reflects the imposition of a Zio-American will at the expense of the Palestinian people and their national rights.
It stressed that taking a decision to expand settlements during the presence of US vice president Joe Biden in the occupied Palestinian lands further vindicates that the US is fully biased in favor of the Israeli occupation and absolutely supports its settlement and Judaization projects.
For his part, Dr. Taleb Abu Sha’ar, the Palestinian minister of religious affairs, deplored the Israeli decision to build 1,600 housing units in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo in the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem.
Dr. Abu Sha’ar said that these settlement expansion plans are aimed to make the Palestinians in east Jerusalem a minority constituting 12 percent of the population in the city and to attract more Jews in return.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, for his part, strongly denounced the PA decision to resume peace talks with Israel in light of the latter’s announcement of building new settlement units in Jerusalem, saying it is a “national crime”.
Spokesman Abu Zuhri called on the PA and the Arab follow-up committee to immediately backtrack on their decision to engage in indirect peace talks because it will provide Israel with the cover it needs to escalate its violations against the Palestinian people.
For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that this new settlement plan falls under the project called Jerusalem 2000 which aims to intensify construction in settlements in the holy city.
The newspaper added that the plan is also aimed to make the Jews a majority through bringing more Jewish immigrants to live in the city.
Biden pledged on Tuesday America's "total and unlimited commitment to Israel's security" as he visited Jerusalem to meet Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
“There is no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel's security," the US vice president said. "For that reason, and many others, addressing Iran's nuclear program has been one of our administration's priorities.”
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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