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The UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to talk about Israel’s plans to construct more settlement building in East Jerusalem.
The talks were requested by Jordan after a letter from Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, who had called on the council to “address this crisis situation in occupied east Jerusalem”. UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is also expected to brief the council on Wednesday.
Israel has said that it will build 1,000 new settler homes in the occupied territory, angering Palestinian officials who fear that the settlements could trigger more violence.
In his letter, Mansour called on the Security Council to demand that Israel cancel its plans immediately and “commit to the path of peace that it has clearly and recklessly abandoned”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hit back at criticism from EU member nations and the US on plans for Israeli settlements, saying that the statements were “detached from reality”.
The EU had said that plans “call once again into serious question Israel’s commitment to a negotiated solution with the Palestinians”, warning of consequences for Israel-EU ties. The US has said that it was “deeply concerned” by the plans, and that “moving forward with this type of action would be incompatible with the pursuit of peace”.
Netanyahu, however, insisted that Israel will go ahead with the construction.“We will continue to build in Jerusalem, our eternal capital”, he said.
Last week, UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the Palestinians and Israelis to not take unilateral actions which could stir tensions, and instead to work towards renewing peace talks.
“International law is clear: settlement activity is illegal. It runs totally counter to the pursuit of a two-state solution”, Ban said.
UN diplomats say that Israel’s push to construct more settlement building endangering the two-state solution and lessening the chances of Palestinian statehood.