Palestine Demands Int’l Action over Settlements Law: Stop ‘Israeli’ Crimes

Local Editor

The Palestinian Authority led an international outcry against the Zionist decision to retroactively legalize 4,000 Jewish settler units, illegally constructed in the occupied West Bank, but the US has chosen to stay silent.

"This is an escalation that would only lead to more instability and chaos," warned Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Passed by 60 votes to 52 in the Knesset on Monday night, the law will force the Arab owners of the land on which ‘Israeli' settlements have been built without permission, to either accept monetary compensation or another piece of land in exchange for their own.

However, refusing to sell is not an option.

Abu Rdeneh said that the law contravened last December's unanimously-approved UN Security Council resolution which declared that the illegal settlement construction "constitutes a flagrant violation under international law."

Fatah, the Palestinian Authority's ruling party, also called for the International Criminal Court, which has already started a preliminary investigation over the Zionist actions in the region, to formally charge ‘Israel' following the vote.

"Nobody can legalize the theft of the Palestinian lands. Building settlements is a crime, building settlements is against all international laws," said Palestinian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Rula Maayaa.

"I think it is time now for the international community to act concretely to stop the ‘Israelis' from these crimes."

For his part, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in an interview with the official PA radio station warned that: "If the White House, the ICC, the EU, and the international community generally do not hold ‘Israel' accountable ...the leadership will not accept any blame for steps it will take to defend Palestinian people's rights."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team