Britain warns Tel Aviv that building illegal settlements threatens two-state solution

Palestine

Published: 2021-01-22 11:17

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 08:44


Editor: Dalia Kharoufeh

Britain warns Tel Aviv that building illegal settlements threatens two-state solution
Britain warns Tel Aviv that building illegal settlements threatens two-state solution

Thursday, the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab, said that the Tel Aviv government's decision to proceed with new settlement constructions in Givat Hamatos separates the Palestinians in East Jerusalem from Bethlehem, and threatens the viability of a two-state solution.

Raab confirmed in a tweet on his official Twitter account Thursday, that Britain has repeatedly urged Tel Aviv to end the illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank.

The Israeli Occupation government had offered tenders to build more than 2,500 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, on the eve of the US President-elect Joe Biden's sworn in.

The Hebrew anti-settlement organization "Peace Now" confirmed that the government had issued tenders Tuesday to build 2,572 new housing units, including 2,122 located in the West Bank and 460 in East Jerusalem, noting that these units are added to about 800 settlement housing units that the authorities agreed to build Sunday.


Also Read: Netanyahu orders building of 800 settlement units in West Bank


The organization considered that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting successfully to expand settlement building as much as possible in the final moments before the change in White House administration occurs.

Joe Biden, who was sworn in as the 46th US President Jan. 20, had indicated that his administration would reactivate Washington's previous policy of opposing settlement activity and expansion. However, government official Anthony Blinken, who was chosen by Biden to take over the State Department, said that the new administration would not cancel former President Donald Trump's historic recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli Occupation.


Also Read: 'The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer': Biden sworn in as 46th US president



Also Read: We will continue to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israeli Occupation: Biden administration


The Trump 'peace plan', which was officially titled "Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli [Occupation] People", was a proposal made by the Trump administration to resolve the Israeli [Occupation]–Palestinian conflict. Trump formally unveiled the plan, dubbed the "deal of the century", in a White House press conference alongside Israeli Occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 28, 2020. No Palestinian authorities were invited for negotiations. 

The plan was master-minded by a team headed by senior advisor and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Palestinian officials rejected the plan, arguing that it was too biased in the favor of Israeli Occupiers. Ironically, the West Bank settlers' Yesha Council also rejected the plan, as it envisaged a Palestinian state.

On the Jordanian side, the former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher told Roya Jan. 7, that the US President-elect, Joe Biden, is very supportive of the two-state solution, however, Biden will not be able to achieve the solution due to the current internal political issues in the US.