The United Nations has termed the Israeli government’s recent announcement for the construction of nearly 5,000 more settlement homes in the occupied Palestinian territory a grave violation of the international law.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Palestinian territory Michael Lynk, in a statement, said: “The international community must answer this grave breach of international law with more than mere criticism”.
Earlier in October, a Israel’s Defense Ministry planning committee approved the construction of 4,948 more homes.
Lynk said, “As the Israeli settlements continue to devour the land that is meant for the independent Palestinian state, the international community observes, it sometimes objects, but it does not act”.
He highlighted that the announcement of 5K new houses in the occupied territory means the Israeli government approved over 12,000 settlements in ongoing year.
“While Israel may have shelved its plans for the de jure annexation of the settlements in August, it is continuing with its de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory through this unrelenting settlement growth,” Lynk said.
“Both de facto and de jure annexation of occupied territory are clear violations of the Charter of the UN and the 1998 Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court. This acceleration of settlement growth worsens an already precarious human rights situation on the ground.”
The independent human rights expert said that the UN Security at least six times since 1979 has said that the Israeli settlements lacked legal validity.
