Israeli
building permits receive widespread condemnation
Saturday, October 16, 2010 10:10:26 PM,
DPA
|
Cairo:
Criticism mounted in the Middle East Saturday of new building
permits to be issued by Israel for housing units in East
Jerusalem, which are widely seen as an obstruction to peace
efforts in the region.
The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
Abdel-Rahman al-Attiya, described the decision to issue permits
for 238 new units in the neighbourhood - which Palestinians have
long eyed as a capital for a future state - as aggressive and
provocative.
The decision came amid a stalemate in direct Israeli-Palestinian
talks over Tel Aviv's refusal to continue freezing settlement
construction.
"We have stressed that such steps (issuing permits) do not give
Israel credibility for any action that would contribute to
achieving a comprehensive peace, as it also confirms the lack of
seriousness on the Israeli side with regard to the collapsed
negotiations," al-Attiya said.
The statement by the GCC, which represents a political and
economic union of six Gulf countries, came on the same day that
the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) also
condemned the Israeli move.
The OIC, which describes itself as an association of 56 Islamic
states promoting Muslim solidarity, said Israel's actions were "a
disregard for the will of the international community" and would
"undermine efforts to resume the peace talks."
For its part, Egypt on Sunday described the controversial new
permits as a "negative" move.
"The Israeli side withdraws day after another from its commitments
to peace efforts, and it clearly prefers to increase the pace of
colonial settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian land than
to engage seriously in the negotiation," Egyptian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hossam Zaki said.
The building tenders also had sparked condemnation from both
Palestinian and United States officials, with worries mounting
that the decision to build new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem
could further jeopardize the already uncertain resumption of
direct talks.
The Palestinians and their Arab supporters are contemplating
turning to the UN for recognition of a Palestinian state without
Israel's approval.
Israel and the Palestinians revived direct peace talks between
them in early September, some 17 months after Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office at the head of a coalition
with mostly right-wing and ultra-right parties.
It was widely reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
was reluctant to enter into negotiations with Israel, stating that
a precondition for talks would be the halt of all settlement
construction in the occupied territories.
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