Israel on Monday announced it plans to build hundreds of housing units in the West Bank, a move the Palestinian Authority immediately condemned as harming peace in the region and in the world, dpa reported. The approximately 300 homes are to be built in the settlements of Karnei Shomron, in the northern West Bank, and Betar Illit, south of Al-Quds. They are part of a plan to build 6,900 housing units throughout Israel. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that the Israeli plans for the new homes did not "only harm Arab-Israeli peace, (but) rather peace in the entire region and the world in general." "We condemn this decision and all of the Israeli government's settlement plans on Palestinian territories," he said. "This is totally rejected and cannot be accepted because all settlements are illegal and should be removed." Abu Rudeineh said the decision was "another reason" why Palestinians needed to ask the United Nations for "recognition and full membership of the Palestinian state."
