Palestinian Prime Minister SalamFayyad has urged that expansion of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank might destroy the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and should be immediately halted, Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported on Tuesday.
Israel's refusal to immediately cease constructions in the settlements would spell the end of the peace negotiations between the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his top diplomat Tzipi Livni, said Fayyad was quoted as saying in an interview with Ha'aretz on Monday.
Fayyad stressed that no other actions were as destructive to the negotiations, demanding an immediate end to settlement constructions.
The speed of construction has actually picked up since the U.S.-host Annapolis conference on Middle East last November, he added.
Fayyad argued that continued settlement expansion undermines the Palestinians' faith in the PNA and in the peace process, causing more negative impact than roadblocks and military operations.
Meanwhile, Fayyad called on the international community to step up pressure on Israel to suspend all constructions in the settlements.
He said that the PNA could apply to the International Court of Justice in this regard as it did in the case of the separation fence.
Source: Xinhua
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