New York, 18 Nov. (AKI) - United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon deplored the Israeli Government's decision to expand Jerusalem’s Gilo settlement, stressing that it was built on Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his position that settlements are illegal, and calls on Israel to respect its commitments under the Road Map to cease all settlement activity, including natural growth,” a statement issued by his spokesperson said, referring to the peace plan that foresees two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side in peace and security.
“He believes that such actions undermine efforts for peace and cast doubt on the viability of the two-State solution,” it added.
It was the latest of several recent statements by Ban calling for a halt to Israeli settlement activity and the demolition of Palestinian homes and evictions in East Jerusalem.
Last month he stated that Jerusalem must be the capital of two States – Israel and Palestine – with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all, if peace in the Middle East is to be achieved.
The first Jewish settlements - considered illegal under international law and a thorny issue between Israelis and Palestinians - were erected after the 1967 Six-Day war inside the so-called Green Line, demarcating a border between the West Bank and Israel.
Israeli rights group, Peace Now, said in a report earlier this year that at least 285,000 settlers live east of the 1967 Green Line that separates Israel from the West Bank.
The figures exclude East Jerusalem settlers which number over 191,000.
