Arab League slams Israeli settlements as "scandalous violation"

The Arab League Secretary General Dr. Nabil Al Arabi Israel''s has condemned planned construction of 1,100 homes in Gilo in East Jerusalem asserting that such a decision was proof of its lack of desire for peace. Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi described the construction as a "scandalous violation of international law." He also criticized United States policy in the Middle East, saying that as a biased mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians it had failed to halt settlement activity and bring about peace in the middle east. The Jerusalem District Planning Committee announced Tuesday that it had approved the construction of 1,100 homes in Gilo, a Jewish neighbourhood in southern Jerusalem built on land captured by Israel in the June 1967 war.