JERUSALEM: Israeli anti-settler organization Peace Now on Thursday denounced the creation of a new settlement, announced earlier by the Gush Etzion regional council in the south of the occupied West Bank.
Yaron Rosental, the president of the Gush Etzion council, on Thursday morning announced the creation of a “new locality” near Bethlehem.
“Tonight, we established a new locality at Shdema, near Bethlehem,” Rosental said in a video circulated by his office.
A spokesman for the regional council confirmed to AFP that three mobile homes had been set up in the area and that families would move in during the weekend.
Peace Now in a statement said: “The new outpost is intended to choke the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour and block its development.
“There is no limit to the settlers’ audacity in establishing outposts and creating facts on the ground, utilising public funds while undermining Israel’s prospects for peace and a two-state solution.”
The Gush Etzion region has in recent days seen multiple violent incidents involving settlers and Palestinian residents.
The flare-up follows the dismantling of a settler outpost by Israeli authorities that regard it as illegal.
All settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, some 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.
Israeli peace group slams new settlement in West Bank
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Israeli peace group slams new settlement in West Bank
- Three mobile homes had been set up near Beit Sahour and settlers would move in during the weekend
- All settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law
UN chief expresses deep concern over escalating Iran-US tensions
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for diplomatic engagement to resolve differences between the United States and Iran amid a surge in military activities and rhetoric across the Middle East, his spokesperson said on Friday.
“We are very concerned about the heightened rhetoric we’re seeing around the region by the heightened military activities, war games or just military, increased military, naval presence in the region. And we encourage both the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue to engage in diplomacy in order to settle the differences,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN secretary-general.
The call for restraint follows a formal letter delivered on Thursday by Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council. Iravani emphasized that Iran is prepared to exercise its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, promising a decisive and proportionate response to any military aggression.
Iravani further warned that in such a scenario, all bases, facilities, and assets belonging to hostile forces in the Middle East would constitute legitimate targets for Iranian defensive measures. The envoy added that the United States would bear full and direct responsibility for any unforeseen and uncontrollable consequences resulting from further provocations.
