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Brazil: Israeli settlements are obstacle to peace

April 5, 2017 at 9:42 am

Israeli settlement construction site in Jerusalem, on 29 December 29, 2016 [Daniel Bar On/Anadolu Agency]

The Brazilian government expressed its regret yesterday of Israel’s decision to build a new settlement in the occupied West Bank and urged the “Jewish state” to respect its international commitments.

The Brazilian foreign ministry issued a statement saying “the settlements are illegal and amount to an obstacle for the two-state solution and for a fair and lasting peace.”

The Israeli security cabinet had given the green light on Thursday for the construction of a new settlement in the heart of the occupied West Bank, making it the first newly build settlement in 25 years.

Read: Settlements are an ‘absurd provocation’

Israel had reiterated in the past that it would be expanding existing settlements, but this time, it allowed the construction of a new settlement.

The decision was made at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who wants to build a new settlement that would house the residents of the Amona settlement in the West Bank. This is after the settlement was dismantled in February at the request of the Israeli judiciary.

The international community does not recognise any form of Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories.