The Palestinian National Authority condemned on Tuesday Israel's decision to invite bids to construct307 housing units in the settlement of Har Homa in east Jerusalem.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement that the Israeli Land Administration (ILA) had on Dec. 2 published tenders for the construction of 307 new housing units in the settlement of Har Homa.
Erekat said he addressed a letter to the International Quartet, describing the ILA's action as a major violation of Israel's obligations under the roadmap peace plan, which undermines the entire political process between Israel and the Palestinians.
He urged the United States, "as the agreed judge in this process, to take all necessary steps to reverse this latest violation, as well as any future violations of the settlement freeze."
"The opportunity afforded to us at Annapolis will not come a second time. We therefore must seize this opportunity now, as the stakes are higher than they have ever been and the consequences of inaction are serious," said Erekat.
The settlement of Har Homa was created in 1996 in breach of a previous Israeli commitment to the U.S.
It's one of several key settlements designed to encircle East Jerusalem and sever it from the rest of the West Bank. At that time, the start of construction of the settlement caused a serious disruption to the political negotiations.
It will be the first settlement expansion by Israel after last week's international conference on the Mideast peace process, which was hosted by the U.S. in Annapolis.
At the Annapolis conference, both the Palestinian and Israeli sides had vowed to implement the U.S.-brokered roadmap plan.
The roadmap plan, known for its vision of two-state solution, was declared in 2002 by U.S. President George W. Bush who called for creating a viable and democratic Palestinian statehood alongside Israel which should be secured.
The International Quartet -- the U.S., the EU, Russia and the UN -- is the four entities that sponsor the implantation of the plan. But the plan stopped in 2003 due to violence between Israel and Palestinian militant groups.
The first phase of the roadmap plan calls on the Palestinians to crack down on militants, while demanding that Israel halt Jewish settlement activity and uproot illegal outposts.
Source: Xinhua
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