CAIRO: Egypt has condemned Israel over its announcement it would erect some 1,100 homes in occupied East Jerusalem. It is the most recent criticism of the move, which has already sparked international anger over Tel Aviv's apparent disregard for human rights and international law. “This illegal measure represents a new and glaring Israeli defiance to the international community, which endeavors to restore credibility to the peace process,” Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr, now on a visit to the US, said in a statement released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. “Egypt is really worried over the steady rise in the pace of settlements construction, especially in the past two months when the building of more than 6,000 homes has been approved,” he added. Although Egypt and Israel have had a peace treaty since 1979, tensions between the two countries have grown dramatically this month following protesters breaking into the Israeli Embassy in Egypt and tossing documents from the windows. On Tuesday, an Israeli district committee approved the 1,100 homes in East Jerusalem, but many fear it will lead to increased tensions with Palestinians and make peace talks nearly impossible to begin again, even as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looks to the United Nations to establish a Palestinian state. The freezing of all settlements is a key ingredient to resuming peace talks. A former Palestinian Authority advisor told Bikyamasr.com on Thursday that Israel's continued avoidance of complying with international law and the international community “is the biggest difficulty in creating a landscape for peace.” The official, who asked not to be named, said that “the Palestinians are ready to have talks, but this move shows that the Israeli leadership has no desire to have peace in this part of the world and they want to continue the occupation as long as possible.” BM
