Jerusalem, ALRAY - Israeli occupation authorities intend to build 1,700 new settlement units in the occupied city of Jerusalem, which will affect the geographic and demographic presence of Palestinians in the city. Experts in settlement and Jerusalem affairs have warned against this.

Khalil Tufakji, an expert in settlement affairs, has stated that the Israeli occupation is actively and urgently working to expand current settlements and establish new ones in Jerusalem.

In addition, he elaborated that the process of expanding settlements on the lands of Beit Iksa and Lifta in occupied Jerusalem is currently in progress. He highlighted that infrastructure projects, such as railways and roads, are close to completion. These projects serve the purpose of strengthening the settlement enterprise and linking the newly established settlement units with the recently constructed "Ramot Shlomo" settlement, where the occupying forces have built 1,600 new settlement units.

The approval of these new units is part of a systematic and scheduled settlement project aimed at completing the construction of 58,000 settlement units in Jerusalem. The objective is to significantly increase the number of settlers in order to prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state geographically.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong condemnation for the Israeli occupation's intentions to build hundreds of additional settlement units in occupied Jerusalem. These plans are part of the "Master Plan 2000," and the ministry strongly criticized and opposed them.

It considered these new plans as an extension of the Israeli policies of annexation, Judaization, and separating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings while connecting it to Israeli territory. They viewed it as a clear disregard by Israel for international legitimacy resolutions, as well as international positions and demands calling for a halt to settlement activities. The ministry also considered these plans as deliberate sabotage of regional and international efforts towards achieving peace and stability.

The ministry warned against the dangerous consequences of treating the processes of deepening and expanding colonial settlements and the construction of new settlement units as routine and familiar, simply because they are recurrent and ongoing. They called for an urgent international intervention that respects international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and compels the occupying state to cease the construction of these plans.