RAMALLAH (PIC)– Dr. Hanna Isa a Palestinian international law expert revealed that the number of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem has reached 503 settlements and that the number of the settlers there is more than a million.
Isa said in a press statement on Sunday “The Zionist settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal according to the International Court of Justice based on the rules of the international law including the rules of Geneva Conventions of 1949.”
Isa also pointed out that the “Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank are expanding at a higher rate than the population growth rate in Israel.”
He added “Building the 725-kilometer barrier which extends from Jordan Valley to Al-Khalil Mountains and extends for 140 km deep into the West Bank settlements occupied about 20% of the West Bank area which is originally 5844 square kilometers while the area of the bypass roads Israel built in these regions seized another 800 square kilometers.
Isa also mentioned that during the reign of former U.S president Jimmy Carter these settlements were described as “illegal” however; the successive U.S administrations used a softer tone and these settlements were described as “an unhelpful factor or an obstacle to a peace agreement.”
Isa who is also the Secretary General of the Islamic-Christian Commission wondered: “How can we talk about an independent Palestine with its capital the eastern part of Jerusalem on the borders of the fourth of June 1967 and with a current Palestinian population of 4800000 persons while the Zionist settlements are occupying (vast tract of) land and depriving the indigenous people of their freedom and economy and at the same time obscure the possibility of a genuine sovereignty on their land?”
Hanna urged the world community to force Israel to stop its colonial policies and to stop defying the international will which aims to bring peace and stability to the region.
