Middle East News
Gulf countries condemn Israel's settlement expansion plan
Nov 18, 2009, 13:42 GMT
Cairo - The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council condemned Wednesday Israel's decision to expand a settlement in Gilo near Jerusalem on the West Bank.
The planned 900 new housing units 'are a flagrant violation of international laws, a blatant challenge to international efforts to revive the peace process in the Middle East, particularly with regard of establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem,' GCC Secretary General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah said.
In a statement carried by the Kuwait news agency, al-Attiyah also said the United Nations Security Council should 'force' Israel to end it settlement policy, Al-Attiyah said, speaking for the group comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Israel considers Gilo as part of its 'eternal capital,' and has opposed international demands to stop construction in areas of the city which are built within the municipal boundaries it has set for itself, but on occupied West Bank land.
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