Israel colony plan ‘slap in face of US’

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli plans for roughly 500 new colony homes in occupied east Jerusalem are a “slap in the face” of the United States and the international community, a top Palestinian official said.

Israel approved construction of the homes on Monday as chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat met US Secretary of State John Kerry in the United States, according to colony watchdog Peace Now.

“With the situation in occupied Jerusalem at boiling point, Israel’s latest [colony] announcement is a slap in the face to Kerry, to the international community, to the Palestinian people, and to peace,” Erakat said in a statement late on Monday.

The US and the international community have condemned repeated plans for new colony homes in occupied east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

The Israeli regime considers the whole of occupied Jerusalem to be its “undivided capital”.

Israel occupied the eastern sector of the city in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move never recognised by the international community.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office pledged on October 27 to build more than 1,000 new colony homes.

Jews-only colony building in occupied east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank has repeatedly derailed peace talks, most recently in April when nine months of US-brokered negotiations broke down.

“The message is clear,” Erakat said.

“The Netanyahu government chooses [colonies] over negotiations, colonisation over the two-state solution, and apartheid over equality and coexistence,” he added.

In the absence of negotiations, which have for decades failed to bring peace, the Palestinians are seeking a UN resolution giving a two-year deadline for Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories.