Envoy to UN: Israeli settlements an international failure

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations.
(REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton, File)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestine's ambassador to the UN on Wednesday complained to the president of the Security Council over Israel's latest settlement expansion plans.

Riyad Mansour wrote that Israel's announcement of more than 2,000 upcoming settler home tenders on Tuesday, is "greatly due to the international community's failure to hold Israel accountable."

The diplomat said Israel's release of the plans a day after Quartet envoys met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, "once again proves (Israel's) staunch commitment to entrenching its illegitimate occupation."

Israel on Tuesday announced plans to invite tenders for the construction of 2,230 new homes in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said.

A day earlier, PLO official Saeb Erekat reiterated the leadership's stance that talks can only start when Israeli freezes settlement building, after he met with representatives of the diplomat Quartet, who also held separate meetings with Israeli officials.
Maan News Agency