The Israeli security cabinet’s decision to legalize nine settler outposts and beef up security measures in Jerusalem in response to the recent terrorist attacks will lead to further tension and escalation, the Palestinian Authority has warned.
On Sunday, the security cabinet also decided to connect dozens of other outposts to state infrastructure, including water and electricity. The planning and zoning committee of the Civil Administration, which approves new buildings in the settlements, would convene in the coming days to approve the construction of new housing units in the settlements, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Additionally, the security cabinet decided to reinforce police units and expand security operations against inciters and supporters of terrorism in Jerusalem.
What did the PA say about their decisions?
PA presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh said the cabinet’s decisions were “condemned and rejected.”
The decisions are “a challenge to the American and Arab efforts and a provocation to the Palestinian people,” he said.
Abu Rudaineh warned that the decisions would lead to further tension and escalation.
“Unilateral actions are rejected, according to international resolutions and bilateral agreements,” he said. “All settlements are illegal and violate international law and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh denounced the decisions as “a recipe for escalation” and said they pose a “threat to Palestinian existence.”
He urged the UN and the US to intervene to stop unilateral actions that would undermine the two-state solution. All settlements are illegal, he added.
PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh said the Palestinian leadership would examine ways to respond to the Israeli decisions.
“This is considered an open war on the Palestinian people and requires immediate international intervention and binding decisions that would force the occupation to stop its aggression and measures,” he said in a statement.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the decisions as a “dangerous escalation of the aggression and open war against the Palestinians and Jerusalem.” It warned that the decisions would lead to an “explosion” and called on the US to intervene to stop Israel from implementing them.