Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Thursday slammed Israel for its launching a tender to build new housing units at a Jewish settlement in the occupied East Jerusalem, said a Foreign Ministry statement.
Voicing astonishment at the Israeli tender, Abul Gheit, who is currently on a visit to Brussels, said that the measure runs counter to Israel's commitments in Annapolis peace conference recently held in the United States under the sponsorship of President George W. Bush.
The statement obtained by Xinhua quoted Abul Gheit as saying that the Israeli move also violates the trust-building measures ithad pledged to take in an attempt to create a suitable atmosphere for launching serious negotiations with the Palestinian side.
The Egyptian top diplomat called on the international community, especially the countries which attended the Annapolis peace conference, to shoulder responsibilities and press Israel to give up such a "very negative step".
On Tuesday, Israeli land authorities announced the launch of a tender for the construction of 307 housing units in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Abu-Ghoneim.
On Nov. 27, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met during the Annapolis conference and agreed to negotiate a peace treaty before the end of 2008 with a view to paving the way for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
In addition, the two leaders also committed themselves to uphold the peace roadmap, which is an internationally negotiated agreement that calls on Palestinians to end violence and Israelis to suspend any further construction of Jewish settlements in disputed areas.
Source: Xinhua
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