PALESTINIAN OFFICIAL CONDEMNS ISRAELI PLAN TO BUILD 1,400 SETTLEMENT UNITS

Ramallah, 10 Rabi’ul Awwal 1435/12 January 2014 (MINA) – A senior Palestinian official condemned on Friday Israel’s latest plan to build 1,400 housing units in settlements in east Jerusalem and in the West Bank.

Nabil Abu Rdineh, a media aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a press statement that the decision “indicates that Israel insists to obstruct the U.S. efforts to push forward the peace process.”

Earlier on Friday, the Israeli Housing Ministry published tenders for the construction of 1,400 housing units in the settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Xinhua quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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The announcement is made just several days after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left the region. His visit was aiming to achieve a framework for an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The decision to build more housing units in the settlements was announced earlier this month, as Israel released 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of a U.S.-brokered deal to resume its peace talks with the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had postponed the announcement amid Kerry’s visit, as the new housing announcement may trigger the anger of the United States and of the Palestinian government.(T/P014/E1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)