The Arab League (AL) on Wednesday warned that Israel's confiscation of Palestinian lands near East Jerusalem may spoil a U.S.-sponsored international conference on Mideast peace.
The pan-Arab bloc condemned the Israeli practice in a statement on Wednesday, terming the annexation of Palestinian lands by Israel a threat to the upcoming U.S.-brokered conference, which was reportedly to be held in November.
The AL called on the international community and the international Quartet, namely the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the United States, to shoulder their responsibility for stopping the illegal settlement construction by the Israeli authorities, said the statement.
Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on Tuesday that the Israeli Defense Forces recently issued an order expropriating the lands from four Arab villages located between East Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki on Tuesday expressed deep concern about the reported Israeli army's confiscation of 1,100 dunams (1.03 million square meters) of Palestinian lands in East Jerusalem.
Zaki noted that Israel's seizure of those lands attested to the reports that Israel is planning to go ahead with its scheme to separate the northern parts of the West Bank from its southern ones.
Source: Xinhua
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