Settlement construction has surged in the two months since the diplomatic Quartet called for a halt to the construction of Jewish outposts on Palestinian territories, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said.

    Mladenov stressed in a statement that Israel did not respond to the Quartet's call, adding "Its recommendations continue to be ignored, including by a surge in Israeli settlement-related announcements and continuing demolitions." Israel has undertaken a land survey on the outskirts of Bethlehem to establish a new settlement in a move that would contribute to the "dismemberment of the southern West Bank," Mladenov said.

    He added that all these plans would essentially create new illegal settlements, calling on Israel to cease and reverse these decisions. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls for a halt to settlement expansion, arguing that the residential projects are not an obstacle to peace. 

    The Quartet report was to serve as the basis for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process that has been comatose since a US initiative collapsed in April 2014.

Source: QNA