UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on Israeli authorities to immediately halt the advancement of plans of settlement construction in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, said the UN chief's spokesperson.
"Our position is clear -- the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law," said Stephane Dujarric in a note to correspondents.
"Settlements further entrench the occupation, fuel tensions, and systematically erode the viability of a Palestinian State as part of a two-State solution," the note said.
Construction in the E1 area would sever the northern and southern West Bank, severely undermining the prospects for the realization of a viable, contiguous Palestinian State, the note added.
The E1 area, a stretch of land east of Jerusalem between the city and the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, is regarded as especially contentious because construction there would effectively cut off East Jerusalem from the northern West Bank. Plans for building in the area have been frozen for years, largely due to international opposition. ■
