PRESS RELEASE 

PLO Executive Committee 

Department of Culture and Information

June 5, 2014

 Dr. Ashrawi on the announcement of 1,500 new settlement units

PLO Executive Committee, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi condemned the announcement of 1,500 new settlement units in and around Jerusalem in the strongest terms:

“Israel’s latest announcement of tenders for 1,500 settlement units is not part new of a new strategy; this constitutes a deliberate and systematic policy that aims to rob the Palestinians of their land and ethnically cleanse them from historical Palestine.”

“Since the launch of the negotiations in July 2013, Israel has aggressively escalated its settlement activities and announced the construction of over 15,500 settlement units in Palestine.  With the continuation of its military occupation and policies of colonization and apartheid, Israel is in clear and willful defiance of international consensus and legality.” 

Dr. Ashrawi added, “The government of national accord is a development that has been universally welcomed with the exception of Israel in its blatant distortion of facts in order to destroy the chances for peace.”

“In fact, the new government is a way of reunifying the Palestinian national and political system, preparing for elections, and healing a rift that has been exploited by Israel.”

 “Having reneged on its commitments and having walked out on negotiations, Israel is looking for a pretext to sabotage any future agreements and to pursue the unilateral and illegal establishment of ‘Greater Israel’ on all of historical Palestine.  Israel is thereby responsible for its own deligitimization.”

“The Executive Committee of the PLO views this latest escalation with the utmost of seriousness and will counter it by addressing both the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly as the proper way of curbing this grave violation and ensuring accountability,” concluded Dr. Ashrawi.