Middle East News
Palestinians urge US to stay firm on settlement stop demand (Extra)
Jul 8, 2009, 15:50 GMT
Ramallah - The Palestinian government Wednesday urged the United States not to allow Israel to stall in implementing international demands for a complete settlement freeze.
The government of Acting Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a statement received by the German Press Agency dpa following its weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah that 'the US administration should conclude its talks with the Israeli government and not allow it to waste more time to elude international demands to halt all settlement activities, including the so-called natural growth.'
The statement came after Israeli press reports Wednesday that the US may allow Israel to complete building 2,500 new housing units in West Bank settlements, construction of which has already begun.
The West Bank-based administration of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas strongly opposes the continuation of any construction in the settlements, illegal under international law, and says it will not resume negotiations with Israel before it freezes all settlement activities.
The Palestinian government urged the US to present what it described as a 'balanced and comprehensive' plan to resolve the decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on pertinent international resolutions.
It said the plan should have a timetable for the conclusion of the negotiations on all permanent status issues that included borders, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security and water.
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