Palestinian rights body: UN must compel Israel to halt settlements

Committee releases statement calling on nations worldwide to take action against Israel's plans for settlement expansion which 'create fait accompli, lack validity'

Ynetnews |Published: 08.21.11 , 11:22

As the situation in the south continues to escalate following last Thursday's multifocal terror attack and the endless barrage of rockets from Gaza, a prominent committee within the UN continues to focus on another matter – Israeli settlements.

A United Nations committee on Palestinian rights released a statement Saturday in which it said that the international community needs to take “credible and decisive action” to compel Israel to halt its settlement activity in Palestinian territories.

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The press release published by the Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People went on to claim that “recent Israeli settlement announcements undermine international efforts aimed at bringing the parties back to negotiations,” as it voiced deep alarm at Israel’s “illegal” approval of 5,200 new housing units in east Jerusalem in August alone.

The committee noted that the issues of settlements and Jerusalem are among core issues to be negotiated by the parties. “All unilateral actions by Israel which prejudge the outcome of negotiations by creating fait accompli on the ground have no legal validity.”

“While welcoming the recent expressions of concern by the Quartet and other members of the international community, the bureau calls for credible and decisive action to compel Israel to abide by its legal obligations and to protect Palestinian civilians” the committee said.

The committee went on to claim that the UN Security Council "bears a special responsibility in this regard.”