Miliband calls Israeli settlements "illegal" (Roundup)

Nov 3, 2009, 18:12 GMT

Amman - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Tuesday criticised the building of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories as 'illegal' and said they represented an 'obstacle' in the path of peace.

'Settlements are illegal in our view and an obstacle' that impedes efforts which seek to work out a final settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians, Miliband told a press conference at the end of a one-day visit to Jordan and talks with King Abdullah II.

The British Foreign Secretary also conferred in Amman with the US Middle East envoy George Mitchell to review the outcome of a regional tour Mitchell and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were carrying out to try to spur the stalled peace process.

Miliband supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and expressed concern over Israeli violations in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

'The current situation is obviously particularly tense in respect of Jerusalem. We view events there with considerable concern, along with our EU and international partners,' he said.

He referred to breaking into Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli troops over the past couple of months to provide a shelter for fanatical Jews who planned to perform prayers at the shrine's compound, according to Palestinian officials.

Miliband also warned that any alternative to a two-state vision as a solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would be 'dark and unwelcome'.