Palestinians say in urgent consultations over new Israeli

Palestinian presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah announced on Wednesday that urgent consultations have begun in response to renewed Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian territories.

"We have started urgent consultations in order to take the necessary measures to confront settlement activities," said Abu Rudeinah.

The spokesperson called on the new U.S. administration "to rein in this Israeli government policy, which will destroy the peace process."

Israeli public radio reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman approved on Tuesday the construction of over 3,000 settlement units in the West Bank, 2,000 of which have already been constructed.

Palestine Liberation Organizations (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi condemned the new Israeli decision, saying "such a frenzied escalation of Israel's illegal activity signals the final demise of the two state solution."

"The silence of the new American government, including those who actively support settlements in the White House and the administration as a whole, has emboldened Netanyahu to persist with his settlement activities," said Ashrawi in a emailed press statement.

"All settlements are a war crime as per the the International Criminal Court's (ICC) Rome Statute and constitute a direct violation of international laws and conventions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334."

PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat called on the ICC to open an immediate investigation into Israeli settlement activity.

"Israel continues to systematically violate Palestinian rights, giving a green light for settlers to occupy more Palestinian territories," Erekat said. "This illegal situation must not be tolerated by the international community."

Israel's decision came a week after Netanyahu and Lieberman approved the construction of 2,500 new settler units in the West Bank in addition to 550 others in east Jerusalem.

source: Xinhua