Excellency,

We are compelled to draw your attention to the ongoing rise in tensions and violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as Israel, the occupying Power, continues its military aggressions and human rights violations against the Palestinian people.  Israeli settlement activities, the blockade and bombardment of the Gaza Strip, home demolitions and evictions, military raids and inflammatory provocations, are exacerbating conditions on the ground and confirming Israel’s rejection of the peace that the State of Palestine remains committed to achieving, along with the rest of the international community.

In flagrant defiance of international law, including Security Council resolution 2334 (2016), and the consistent demands to cease its illegal, destructive settlement campaign in the Occupied State of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, the occupying Power continues to provoke and incite with repeated declarations regarding further plans to colonize the Palestinian land.  Just last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu laid the cornerstone for a new settlement compound with over 1,000 settlement units in the illegal “Beitar Illit” settlement located south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. In a speech at the ceremony marking the start of construction, Netanyahu hailed his government’s continuous works on illegal settlements and serving the settler population, boasting, “no other government has worked for settlements like my government.” [Read more…]