The Israeli foreign minister says Tel Aviv will never limit construction of settlements in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) despite international condemnation of the expansionist policy.
Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday that Israelis will not “accept any limitation on building” in areas of East al-Quds.
He made the remarks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.Lieberman also stated that Israel would never accept construction in East al-Quds as “settlement building.”
“There will be no compromise about” constructing settlements in East al-Quds, he added.
The Israeli foreign minister said “anyone who thinks” that Tel Aviv is “about to give in and limit construction” in the abovementioned area is “wrong.”
Israel will allocate nearly USD 35 million for the World Zionist Organization’s Settlement Division, which is tasked with construction of settler units on Palestinian territories.
The figure is currently around USD 15 million, with reports showing that the 2014 budget for the construction has already increased by 600 percent.
Much of the international community considers the settlements illegal because the territories were seized by Israel in a war in 1967, and are thus subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
On October 27, EU foreign policy spokeswoman, Maja Kocijancic, censured Israel’s plans to construct more settlements on the occupied Palestinian land.
In addition, US Department of State spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said Washington is “deeply concerned” by the plans and that “moving forward with this type of action would be incompatible with the pursuit of peace.”
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements, built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East al-Quds, in 1967