Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr condemned Israel's recent announcement that it is constructing more than a thousand housing units in East Jerusalem. “This action, which is devoid of legitimacy, is a new and blatant Israeli challenge to the international community, which wants and is working toward restoring the credibility of the path to a political settlement,” said Amr. “These parties have the responsibility to face this challenge.” In a statement made from Washington, Amr said the move reflects Israel's choice to “continue its policy of provocation and defiance of the established international consensus on the illegality of settlements.” He explained that “there is no doubt, the Israeli side was encouraged by the recent Quartet statement, which was devoid of any reference to the need to halt the Israeli settlement activity.” Amr went on to say that Egypt was extremely concerned over the recent accelerated pace of settlement activity, especially during the past couple of months, during which approval was given for the construction of more than 6000 housing units. He added that this represented “a state of completely irresponsible construction on the occupied Palestinian territories.” “The Israeli side bears full responsibility for what may result from such provocative policies in light of exceptional circumstances in the region,” he said. Translated from the Arabic Edition
