Israel has increased the number of settlements by 25 percent annually since the beginning of US President Donald Trump's term in 2017, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said.
Erekat said the intensification of Israeli colonial activities is an integral part of the annexation and settlement plan of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This is not an isolated event, but is taking place in the context of an Israeli annexation plan presented as a US peace initiative which aims at normalizing crimes under international law, including annexation and Apartheid, while perpetuating the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” he was quoted as saying by Wafa News Agency.
Erekat explained that the ignorance and arrogance of Trump’s Middle East team has led to a blind political ideology, which could be considered a threat to international law. He also indicated that this has allowed the figures to continue growing as they deny Palestinians their rights.
The PLO official warned that if the international community wants to save the prospects of a just and lasting peace based on international laws and legitimacy as well as relevant UN resolutions, then it must act to ensure that, including imposing sanctions on the occupation.
Erekat's accusations confirm previous international reports on the matter.
Last year, the United Nations said in a report submitted to the UN Security Council that the number of settlement units that were submitted for construction plans in the Palestinian territories or approved during the year amounted to 10,000 units, compared to 6,800 in each of the previous two years.
Since 2016, plans have been established or approved to build more than 22,000 new settlement units in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and tenders have been issued for the construction of 8,000 other units, the report added.
The Palestinians insist on removing the settlements given their illegal status, but Israel refuses to do so.
