MIDEAST-PALESTINIANS/ISRAEL-SETTLEMENTS-SPAIN Israel approves 78 new settler homes in East Jerusalem

Record ID: 398798

  • Title: MIDEAST-PALESTINIANS/ISRAEL-SETTLEMENTS-SPAIN Israel approves 78 new settler homes in East Jerusalem
  • Date: 19th November 2014
  • Summary: JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 19, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AREA OF RAMOT VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE, CONSTRUCTION IN PROCESS CRANE AT CONSTRUCTION SITE WORKER ON SITE VARIOUS OF WORKERS UNLOAD MATERIALS FROM TRUCK AT BUILDING SITE SIGN READING "RAMOT" RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 19, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER, RAMI HAMDALLAH, SAYING: "We th
  • Embargoed: 4th December 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA71T6WYOW5ZS5DU5AK2YKDY1NU
  • Story Text: Israel on Wednesday (November 19) approved the construction of 78 new homes in two settlements on West Bank land annexed to Jerusalem, likely to aggravate Palestinian anger at a time when violence has flared, including a deadly attack on a synagogue.
    Jerusalem's municipal planning committee authorised 50 new housing units in Har Homa and 28 in Ramot, a municipal spokeswoman said. Israel describes those two urban settlements as Jerusalem neighbourhoods.
    Jerusalem has seen unrest in the past few weeks over access to the city's most sacred and politically sensitive site, holy to both Jews and Muslims. On Tuesday, two Palestinians killed four rabbis and a policeman at a Jerusalem synagogue, the worst attack in the city since 2008.
    The Palestinians have also been angered by a recent slew of plans Israel has advanced for about 4,000 housing units on West Bank land annexed to the city.
    The Palestinians want to establish a state in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East War. They fear the Israeli enclaves will deny them contiguous territory.
    Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said said of the latest announcement: "Of course we ask Israel to stop all the activities of settlements, demolishing and arresting, because all this does not help to make peace in this land."
    Israel's settlement activities have drawn criticism from the European Union and from the United States, which like most countries views settlements as illegal.
    Israel, citing Biblical links to Jerusalem, says Jews have a right to live anywhere in the city. It regards Jerusalem, including parts of the city captured in 1967, as its "indivisible" capital. U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in April.
    Meanwhile, Spanish lawmakers on Tuesday urged their government to recognise Palestine as a state, albeit only when the Palestinians and Israel negotiate a solution to their long-standing conflict.
    The symbolic motion, which echoes similar votes last month in Britain and Ireland, was backed by all the political groupings in the lower house after the ruling People's Party (PP) watered down the wording hours after an attack in Jerusalem.
    The non-binding text brought by the opposition Socialists was initially an outright call to recognise a Palestinian state and had angered the Israeli government.
    "We thank all the nations and the governments including Sweden, the British parliament, the Spanish government and the Irish". Hamdallah said during an event held in Ramallah city of the West Bank," said Hamdallah.
    Israeli Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Paul Hirschson said the Spanish decision would make it more difficult to make compromises in order to reach an agreement.
    "Telling the Palestinians that they can get what they want without making very difficult compromises that we are both going to have to make, makes conflict resolution more difficult not less difficult and that is why we are disappointed. We don't have a difference of opinions in substance, we have a real difference of opinions in process with the Spanish decision," said Hirschson.
    both, the respect of the rights of the citizens and regional stability."
    France is eyeing its own non-binding resolution this month after Sweden's centre-left government took the lead by officially recognising the state of Palestine within days of taking office last month.
    The moves reflect mounting frustration in the EU at Israel's expanding settlement programme on land the Palestinians want for a state following the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks.
    The EU's new foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the bloc's 28 foreign ministers discussed on Monday how they could start "a positive process with the Israelis and Palestinians to relaunch a peace process".


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register