PA urges UN action on settlements

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour appealed to the United Nations on Thursday regarding Israel’s recent approval of 463 new settlement units across the occupied West Bank.

Mansour condemned the recent settlement approvals in a statement, highlighting that Israel’s settlement expansion which has continually accelerated along with the demolition of Palestinian homes confirms Israel’s “true intentions to maintain its occupation of Palestine and to construct and expand illegal settlements and annex Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

Mansour also underscored the international consensus on the illegality of Israeli settlements in both the West Bank and al-Quds (‘Jerusalem’), noting that despite the condemnations nothing has been done to halt their construction.

Mansour added that the lack of any international action on the issue has served to encourage Israel’s violations of international law.

“The international community must act responsibly and take serious and bold action aimed at compelling Israel to immediately cease its crimes and violations once and for all before it is too late,” the statement read, adding that global leaders must make concerted efforts to end the occupation in order for Palestine to have its own state on pre-1967 lines and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

According to Mansour, the statement was the 594th such statement to be made to the UN demanding action against Israeli violations of international law since September 2000, noting that the UN now has a clear record of all crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people over the past 16 years.