Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada, 26 June 2008
".....In the 12 months before the US-sponsored Annapolis conference last November, the Israeli government invited tenders for the construction of "only" 138 housing units in settlements. However, as demonstrated by the table below, in the six months since, Israel has put out 11 tenders for the construction of the staggering number of 1,731 settler housing units.......
Israel further demonstrated its determination to transfer part of its population to the occupied territory in open violation of international law on 13 June when the Regional Committee for Construction and Planning approved the construction of 1,300 homes for settlers in Ramat Schlomo near Beit Hanina, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Ramat Schlomo currently has 2,000 housing units......
In light of the increased settlement construction, Abbas's appointed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has asked the European Union not to upgrade its ties with Israel unless it ceased construction of settlements and the wall. This request is perfectly in line with the EU-supported Road Map, and the Geneva convention of 1949. However, the EU ignored the Palestinian objections. Instead, the EU and the US continue to pile a heavy burden on their shoulders by willfully ignoring Israel's speedy settlement expansion which are a violation of international law, and only serve to further weaken and discredit their "moderate allies" in the Palestinian leadership."
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