Oct 10, 2007, 8:02 GMT
Ramallah - Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned Wednesday an Israeli decision to seize Palestinian land near Jerusalem for the construction of a new road bypassing the ancient road to Jericho.
'We strongly condemn this escalation,' Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio. 'How we can convince anyone that we have a peace process and build up hope while the Israeli government is confiscating land for settlement construction?'
The Israeli Ha'aretz daily reported Tuesday that Israel issued a military order on September 24, confiscating more than 1,100 dunams (more than 1.1 square kilometres) of land to build the road, linking southern East Jerusalem to Jericho in the east.
According to a map attached to the military order, the route runs through the four areas of Abu Dis, Sawahreh, Nabi Mousa and Kham Ahmar on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem.
According to Ha'aretz, the new road is to replace the original Jerusalem-Jericho road, which runs through an area known as E1, which Israel plans to build up so as to connect the Jewish settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem.
The Palestinians and the international community have voiced strong objection to the Israeli construction plan in E1, first announced several years ago, saying it would harm the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state because it would greatly hamper travel between the northern and southern West Bank.
Erekat called on the United States to pressure Israel to stop the construction plans, which he said did not create the 'right atmosphere' for talks ahead of the US-hosted Middle East peace conference in November.
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