By NNN-KUNA,
Gaza : The Department of Negotiation Affairs at the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has accused Israel of intensifying its settlement expansion in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the Annapolis Conference.
The department, headed by chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, asserted in a report Sunday that Israel extended its settlement expansion activities since the Annapolis Peace Conference that was held in November 2007, and thereby was killing peace negotiations between the two sides.
Violations on the part of Israel include establishing over 609 checkpoints across the West Bank that virtually divided it into four separate districts, the statement added.
Israel also increased military checkpoints in the West Bank since August 2005 by 64 per cent.
Moreover, Israel’s Housing Ministry issued a decree for constructing 4,486 residential units, with 92 per cent of these to be built in Jerusalem.
The report underscored that the construction work of the separation wall continued in different areas of the West Bank.
A total of 494 Palestinians were killed and 1,887 others were injured in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip by the Israeli forces since the Annapolis Conference, it added.