ARABS-UN - Aug 24 - Annan Urges Israel To Freeze Settlements.The UN Sec Gen Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1 1997 to January 1 2007, serving two five-year terms. He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. , calls on Israel to stop expanding settlements in Palestinian territories This article is about the Palestinian territories as a geopolitical phenomenon. For more on their geography, demographics and general history, see West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinian territories , following Israel's recent announcement of plans to build more than 1,500 new homes in the West Bank. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric Stéphane Dujarric served as chief spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan from June 2005 through December 2006. During that time he faced daily questions on a number of crises, notably the Oil for Food scandal and the Israel-Lebanon conflict. , says: "The secretary-general expresses strong concern over reports of Israeli settlement Israeli settlements are communities inhabited by Israeli Jews in territory that came under Israel's control as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank, which is partially under Israeli military administration[1] expansion in the West Bank, through the government of Israel's recent publication of tenders for construction of new housing units". The rebuke comes as US officials have indicated a new, more flexible interpretation of the settlement freeze called for in the international "road map" for peace. The US refusal to criticise Israel's planned increase in settlers' homes has been interpreted as a further sign that it accepts growth within large existing settlements. Last week, Israel's PM Ariel Sharon, approved 1,000 new Jewish homes in the West Bank, and Aug 23 a further 533 were announced. The US has insisted that it stands by the road map but would not take a position on recent announcements on settlements. A senior administration official said: "We are currently involved in technical talks with the government of Israel in an effort to clarify their interests with respect to the settlements. A technical team is working with the Israelis in this process. The US will continue to work with the government of Israel on the progress towards a settlement freeze". Analysts have interpreted the mixed signals as a gesture of support by Bush for Sharon, who faces heavy opposition from his Likud party over his plan to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip Gaza Strip (gäz`ə), (2003 est. pop. 1,330,000) rectangular coastal area, c.140 sq mi (370 sq km), SW Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea adjoining Egypt and Israel, in what was formerly SW Palestine. and from four West Bank settlements. Bush is also unlikely to want to seek a confrontation before the US presidential election in November. A US official said there had always been a tacit understanding about growth in existing settlements. But Palestinian officials and EU diplomats have criticised the apparent flexibility on settlements - first indicated in March - saying it would create problems for an eventual two-state solution The two-state solution envisions two separate states in the Western portion of the historic region of Palestine, one Jewish and another Arab to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict. . Meanwhile, Israel's attorney-general Meni Mazuz, has urged the government to adopt the Fourth Geneva Convention The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power. , which governs the treatment of occupied people and forbids the occupying power from transferring its civilians to the occupied lands. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion