Israeli settlement activities continued in defiance of UN resolution: UN official

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Israel continued settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2017 in violation of a Security Council resolution passed almost a year ago, Nikolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said here on Monday.

Significantly more housing units were advanced and approved in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2017, Mladenov told the Security Council.

In Area C of the West Bank, the number of units advanced and approved more than doubled from 3,000 in 2016 to nearly 7,000 in 2017. In East Jerusalem, the increase has similarly been from 1,600 in 2016 to some 3,100 in 2017, he said.

The activities contravened Security Council Resolution 2334, which demands Israel "immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

No such steps have been taken during the reporting period from Sept. 20 to Dec.18, said Mladenov, updating the Security Council on the implementation of the resolution.

"Let me reiterate that the United Nations considers all settlement activities to be illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace," he said.

"Settlement-related activities undermine the chances for the establishment of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution," said Mladenov. Enditem