The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Sunday condemned the Israeli announcement of 3,000 new settlement units in East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank. In a daily briefing, the Secretary-General termed this move of Israel as ‘illegal’ as it clearly ran against the International law. He stated, “It would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing two-state solution.”
Eight years ago, the International Court of Justice had clarified that any Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territory would be illegal under international laws.
The Secretary-General has called on all concerned to resume negotiations and intensify efforts for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. Demanding that Israel’s further occupation plan be annulled, he has also urged the parties to refrain from provocative activities.
Israel’s announcement of further expanding and tightening its occupation of Palestine comes while the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has returned to the West Bank triumphantly from the UN General Assembly that voted to recognize Palestine as an observer state in the United Nations. While Mr. Abbas reiterated, "the world is on our side," Israel has remained unmoved by unanimous global public opinion. The continuation of actions tantamount to the direct takeover of nations is extremely embarrassing in the 21st century as we talk about international peace, friendship and human rights. The rest of the world, though officially independent UN members, have been confined to reiterating that Israeli occupation is illegal under international laws. The international community has so far stressed on the peaceful settlement of the Middle-East crisis as there is a proven experience that terrorism and counterterrorism do not produce beneficial outcome.