The UN Security Council has expressed its condemnation of plans by Israel’s far-right government to legalize settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories warning in a statement its members adopted on Monday that such Israeli steps “impede peace.”
“The constant settlement activities of Israel endanger the implementation of the two-state solution” the Council said in the statement which is not binding like the resolution originally considered last week whose vote was cancelled after US diplomatic mediation between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
The Council “strongly opposes all unilateral measures that impede peace including inter alia Israeli construction and expansion of settlements confiscation of Palestinians’ land and the legalization of settlement outposts demolition of Palestinians’ homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians”
Its statement underscored the right of all states to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders and the right of Palestinians to enjoy equal measures of freedom security prosperity justice and dignity.
The statement also reiterated the Council’s firm commitment to the vision of the two-state solution in accordance with the international law and relevant UN resolutions.
It also expressed deep concern and dismay over Israel’s announcement on February 12 of its intention to proceed with the construction and expansion of settlements and to legitimize outposts.
The Council warned that Israel’s persistence in its settlement activities poses a serious threat to the possibility of achieving a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and stressed the need for both parties to fulfill their international obligations and commitments.
The statement called for necessarily respecting the historical status quo in the holy places in Occupied Jerusalem in word and deed.
In a related context the Hamas Movement criticized the Security Council’s statement saying it reflected “the fragility and weakness of the international position on the Israeli occupation state’s crimes and its ongoing settlement practices.”
In a statement on Monday Hamas deplored the Security Council members for issuing a statement instead of a binding resolution condemning Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people and its settlement activities.
The Movement accused the Council members of failing to assume the responsibilities entrusted to them in accordance with international conventions and norms.
It expressed its rejection of the decision that canceled a vote on a draft resolution against Israel’s violations and settlement activities following US pressures describing the step as a green light for the occupation state to persist in its crimes against the Palestinian people their land and holy sites.
