UN SC to meet on Israeli settlements
AFP, United Nations :
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss Israeli plans to build more Jewish settlements in Arab east Jerusalem, diplomats said.
The urgent talks were requested by Jordan following a letter from Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, who called on the 15-member council to “address this crisis situation in occupied east Jerusalem.”
Israel pledged to build more than 1,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem on Monday, angering Palestinians who warned it could trigger an “explosion” of violence.
In his letter, the Palestinian representative said the council should demand that Israel rescind its plan immediately and “commit to the path of peace that it has clearly and recklessly abandoned.”
The meeting beginning at 1900 GMT was not expected to yield a resolution and it was unclear if the council would issue a statement following its discussions.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to say whether Washington would oppose any Security Council action that was critical of Israel.
“We don’t have information yet on what the plan is,” she said.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at US and European criticism, saying the statements were “detached from reality.”
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss Israeli plans to build more Jewish settlements in Arab east Jerusalem, diplomats said.
The urgent talks were requested by Jordan following a letter from Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, who called on the 15-member council to “address this crisis situation in occupied east Jerusalem.”
Israel pledged to build more than 1,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem on Monday, angering Palestinians who warned it could trigger an “explosion” of violence.
In his letter, the Palestinian representative said the council should demand that Israel rescind its plan immediately and “commit to the path of peace that it has clearly and recklessly abandoned.”
The meeting beginning at 1900 GMT was not expected to yield a resolution and it was unclear if the council would issue a statement following its discussions.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to say whether Washington would oppose any Security Council action that was critical of Israel.
“We don’t have information yet on what the plan is,” she said.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at US and European criticism, saying the statements were “detached from reality.”