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Netanyahu: I’m not interested in what UN says about settlement construction
As criticism of Israel’s intention to move ahead with construction plans in the West Bank and East Jerusalem mounts, the PM says in a TV interview that it is Israel’s right to build in Jerusalem.
Amid increasing international criticism of Israel’s recent approval of construction plans in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a television interview Friday that he is not interested in what the UN has to say about the subject.
Following the UN vote granting the Palestinians non-member status, Israel announced plans to advance a long-frozen project for the E-1 corridor, which links the city of Jerusalem with the settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim. The Netanyahu government also announced plans to build 3,000 new residential units beyond the green line.
Criticism of these reached as far as the UN this week, when on Wednesday fourteen members of the UN Security Council condemned Israel for its intention to move ahead with construction in E-1, as well as with building new settler homes. On Tuesday the U.S. State Department accused Israel of engaging in a “pattern of provocative action” that runs counter to statements from Israeli leaders that they are committed to peace.
In Friday’s Channel 2 interview, Netanyahu said construction is a matter of principle. “We live in a Jewish state, and Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The Western Wall is not occupied territory. We will build in Jerusalem because this is our right. What the UN says doesn’t interest me.”
More: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-de…n-1.489204
2012-12-21 16:34:58
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