MOSCOW – Russia has expressed its firm objection to Israel’s plan to expandits illegal settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories, includingin the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
“Moscow reaffirms Russia’s principled position on the illegality ofIsrael’s settlement activities on the Palestinian territories, including inEast Jerusalem,” said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement on Saturday.
The statement said Israel’s announced plan for the construction of over1,100 housing units in 20 West Bank settlements would further undermineinternational efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict.
It said the expansion of settlements on lands designated as occupied by theinternational community would deprive Palestinians of their right toestablish an independent state on the territories.
“We believe that Israel’s stance is not conducive to the creation ofconditions for opening the direct talks between the Israelis and thePalestinians during which all the problems relating to the final statusshould be settled,” said the statement.
Israel captured the West Bank and the East Jerusalem al-Quds in the 1967War and later occupied them. The regime has defied recurrent internationalcalls for a halt to settlement activity in those areas, saying it does notrecognize the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, as anindependent state.
Even the United States, Israel’s closest ally, decided in the final days offormer President Barack Obama in office to end its long and implicitsupport for the settlements in occupied territories and an Americandelegation abstained to vote against a United Nations resolution condemningthe activity.
Israeli authorities announced on January 10 that in addition to the plannednew units in the West Bank, some other projects on the Palestinianterritories might be agreed upon in the near future.