A laborer works at the construction site of a new
housing project at the Jewish settlement of Gilo in east Jerusalem on December
20, 2012. Israel has approved plans to build 523 homes in the West Bank, Jewish
settlers said, in the first step towards a new settlement "city" that drew
furious condemnation from the Palestinians. (Photo: AFP - Ahmad
Gharabali)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a television interview
Saturday night that he is not interested in what the UN has to say about illegal
settlement construction, which intensified in the East Jerusalem area this
month.
“We live in a Jewish state, and Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The Western Wall is not occupied territory. We will build in Jerusalem because this is our right. What the UN says doesn't interest me,” Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 2.
After a UN vote upgraded Palestine's status to a non-member state, Israel activated a frozen project to expand settlement building between East Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim, Israel's largest illegal settlement. The project is known as E1, and is considered a first step towards turning the area into a settlement "city".
In addition to E1, Israel has announced it will build 3,000 new settlement houses inside the West Bank.
Fourteen members of the UN Security Council condemned Israel for its settlement plans, but stopped short of issuing a resolution.
On Tuesday, the US State Department accused Israel of engaging in a “pattern of provocative action”.
The Palestinian Authority Friday said it was considering filing a complaint to the International Criminal Court if the UN Security Council "does not take action" over increased Israeli settlement construction.
Palestine's UN status upgrade last month granted it the power to refer Israel to the ICC.
(Al-Akhbar)
“We live in a Jewish state, and Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The Western Wall is not occupied territory. We will build in Jerusalem because this is our right. What the UN says doesn't interest me,” Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 2.
After a UN vote upgraded Palestine's status to a non-member state, Israel activated a frozen project to expand settlement building between East Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim, Israel's largest illegal settlement. The project is known as E1, and is considered a first step towards turning the area into a settlement "city".
In addition to E1, Israel has announced it will build 3,000 new settlement houses inside the West Bank.
Fourteen members of the UN Security Council condemned Israel for its settlement plans, but stopped short of issuing a resolution.
On Tuesday, the US State Department accused Israel of engaging in a “pattern of provocative action”.
The Palestinian Authority Friday said it was considering filing a complaint to the International Criminal Court if the UN Security Council "does not take action" over increased Israeli settlement construction.
Palestine's UN status upgrade last month granted it the power to refer Israel to the ICC.
(Al-Akhbar)
Uprooted Palestinian 
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