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Israel won't stop settlements, Arab League demands int'l action Israel refuses to stop building 3,000 new settler homes, as Arab League calls for international support for newly-recognised Palestinian state
Israel will not give in to international pressure to halt plans to build new settler homes in a highly controversial area of the West Bank near Jerusalem, a source in the Israeli premier's office said on Monday. "Israel continues to insist on its vital interests, even under international pressure. There will be no change in the decision that has been made," said the source, referring to a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow 3,000 new settler homes to be built in annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Some of the construction is to take place in a controversial corridor of land east of Jerusalem called E1, which could effectively cut off the northern West Bank from the south, and ultimately threaten the territorial contiguity and viability of a future Palestinian state. The plans have sparked an international outcry, with strongly-worded protests from Washington, the European Union, and the United Nations over the weekend. And on Monday, UN Security Council permanent members Britain and France, as well as Denmark and Sweden all summoned Israel's ambassadors to express deep concern and call for the reversal of plans. "Settlements are illegal under international law and, should the E1 settlement be constructed, it would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on Sunday in an unusually strongly-worded statement. Plans to link Jerusalem with the Maaleh Adumim settlement, which lies some five kilometres (three miles) from the city's eastern flank, have long been espoused by Israeli hardliners, but were put on hold in 2005 following strong opposition from Washington. They were resurrected last week following the Palestinians' successful attempt to win the rank of a non-member state at the UN, dealing a harsh political blow to Israel, which vowed to "act accordingly." Meanwhile, the Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Arabi called the UN Security Council to adopt the necessary measures and "take quick moves" against Israel to stop its settlement policy. In a press release published on Monday, El-Arabi argued that the "escalatory" decision of building new settler homes near Jerusalem might end hopes for reviving the peace process in the Middle East, in light of the recently-witnessed UN recognition to Palestine. El-Arabi pointed out that condemnation statements issued by the international community are not apparently sufficient to encounter the violations inside the occupied Palestinian lands, as punitive measures are still required against Israel to end its ignorance to the international treaties and UN resolutions. Also, El-Arabi called the Arab states to support the Palestinian state against the economic siege from "those who oppose peace," as the United States and Israel had threatened to cut their economic aid to the Palestinians. Hedescribed the Middle East Quartet as ineffective and said he expected Arabs to approach the United Nations to pressure Israel into withdrawing from Palestinian lands. "I expect that the Arabs go to the Security Council very soon and say we don't want all this. You have 242, which said territories occupied have to be deoccupied. Let's carry out that," he said of a 1967 UN Security Council resolution. The Quartet, encompassing the United States, Russia, the United Nations and European Union, was established in 2002 to enhance mutual talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on implementing the so-called two-state solution. The Arab League had previously proposed a peace deal with Israel in which Arab states construct diplomatic ties with the Jewish state in exchange of its withdrawal from Palestinian lands and an equitable solution for Palestinian refugees' crisis. "Either the Security Council takes its responsibilities, or we might ask even for an international conference. This is in the air," he said, referring to a meeting of an Arab League task force on the peace process that will meet in Qatar on Sunday. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/59740.aspx
