By IRNA,
London : Amnesty International has added its voice to the international condemnation of Israel for refusing to stop building more illegal settlements, warning that it would add to the long list of its human rights abuses.
The London-based human rights group urged the Israeli regime to abandon the construction of 238 new housing units in its latest illegal settlement plans in the occupied East Beit-ol Moqaddas.
“The Israeli authorities must immediately halt expansion of settlements in East Beit-ol Moqaddas and the rest of the occupied West Bank,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“Not only does the building contravene international law, it also compounds the litany of abuses of the human rights of Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territories, including their rights to adequate housing and water,” Luther warned.
On Thursday, British Foreign Office Minister Lord Howell accused the Israeli regime of being “highly provocative” by continuing to build illegal settlements, agreed that “pressure must be mobilised” but remained opposed to imposing international sanctions.
“The policy violates the rights both of Palestinians in East Beit-ol Moqaddas living under civil law and of those in the rest of the West Bank where they are subject to Israeli military law,” said Luther.
“Discrimination on grounds of nationality and religion is the dominant feature of Israel’s settlement policy,” he said but stopped short of describing Israel as an apartheid state.
In East Beit-ol Moqaddas, no less than 35 per cent of the land has so far been expropriated for illegal settlements in which 195,000 Israelis live, while more than 250,000 Palestinians are designated only 13 per cent in already heavily built up areas.
In the rest of the West Bank, around 40 per cent of the land has now been classified by Israel as “state” land and often used for illegal settlements. A further 21 per cent lie on private Palestinian land.
Last year, Amnesty also reported on the extent to which Israel’s discriminatory water policies and practices are denying Palestinians their right to water.
“We have repeatedly documented the connection between settlements and the destruction of Palestinians’ homes, crops, agricultural lands, and livelihoods,” Luther said.
Israel’s policy of settling its civilians on occupied land violated the Fourth Geneva Convention and was considered a war crime, according to the statute of the International Criminal Court.