Through a statement, the special coordinator of the UN Secretary General for the Peace Process in the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, condemned the announcement made by Tel Aviv, which indicates that it will build more than four thousand houses in that occupied Palestinian territory.

As detailed by the Norwegian diplomat, those plans include the retroactive approval of two illegal outposts and a park.

Wennesland also stressed that the continued expansion of Israeli settlements further entrenches the occupation, encroaches on Palestinian land and natural resources, and hampers the free movement of that Arab population.

He also reiterated that such settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to peace.

The UN special coordinator called on Tel Aviv to end such activities and refrain from unilateral action.

Likewise, he urged to refrain from any provocation that fuels instability and undermines the prospects of establishing a contiguous and viable Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution.

This on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements, he pointed out.

The creation and recognition of the State of Palestine is to date one of the longest pending issues in the United Nations, although the State of Israel has existed for 70 years.

International organizations such as the UN have repeatedly expressed their rejection of the demolition of Palestinian properties and the Israeli expansion into the West Bank, actions that threaten the two-state solution.

In fact, United Nations Security Council resolutions condemn such practices, considered colonialist and illegal.

According to the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, the ultimate goal of the occupying state, Israel, is to complete “the process of Judaization” of the West Bank and change its historical, legal and demographic reality.

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