Spokesperson of President Abbas warns of Israeli settlements expansion

Monday December 10, 2007 18:05 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC&Agencies

Spokesperson of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rodaina, warned on Monday of the recent Israeli settlements expansion on the occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

Abu Ghonaim Israeli settelement in the occupied east Jerusalem/ Maan News Agency

Abu Rodaina told reporters that the Palestinian Authority is opposed to settlements expansion and confiscation of lands, the Israeli authorities have been undertaking on occupied Palestinian lands.

Abu Rodaina maintained that such actions, particularly in Jerusalem, would pose a genuine threat to renewed peace talks with Israel on final status issues.

" The real test for Israel lies in an immediate cessation of settlement activities and that Israel should resort to the land for peace formula, which has been the basis for serious Israeli-Palestinian peace", Abu Rodaina believed.

The Palestinian official warned of the Israeli government insistence on the settlement building policy, calling on the American administration to intervene by observing the implementation of the Road Map peace blueprint, launched by Washington in 2003.

Abu Rodaina's statement came shortly after Israel re-announced a construction tender for a new settlement building in the Abu Ghonaim hilltop (Har Homa) on the occupied east Jerusalem.

The Road Map, which has been reaffirmed during last month's Washington-hosted Annapolis peace summit, demands Israel to halt all settlement activities in return for dismantling Palestinian resistance factions, in advance of an everlasting solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

U.S Secretary of States, Condoleezza Rice, had criticized outright last week the new Israeli settlement projects in Jerusalem as ' counterproductive to underway peace-making efforts'

gaza strip | israeli settlement | news report rami at imemc dot org