Palestinan MOFA Condemns Israeli Railway Plan Connecting Jerusalem with Settlements

Ramallah, 04 Safar 1438/03 November (MINA) – Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Wednesday a recently approved Israeli plan to construct a railway that will connect Jerusalem with neighboring settlement blocs in the West Bank, WAFA reported.

Israel’s Minister of Transportation approved a plan to construct a railway that will connect Jerusalem with area settlements, according to Israel Channel II.

The plan will see an underground tunnel at 80 meters below earth surface being constructed, in addition to four new railway routes connecting Jerusalem with the settlement blocs of Ma’ale Adumim, Adam, Atarot, and Givat Ze’ev.

The ministry said such a plan would undermine territorial continuity of the West Bank and transform it into disconnected cantons, making it impossible for the Palestinians to continue to live there.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on the international community and the United Nations, particularly UNESCO and the UN Security Council, to take action to thwart “this dangerous settlement escalation, which threatens to explode” the conflict.

UNESCO recently passed a resolution condemning Israeli construction projects in the Old City, which Palestinians claim as territory for their future state, as well as casting doubt over Jewish links to the Temple Mount and Western Wall, Judaism’s two holiest sites. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)