Nofal: Settlement activities intended for imposing a status quo in W.B and J'lem

NABLUS -- Hamas lawmaker Emad Nofal stated Sunday that the escalating Israeli settlement expansion is aimed at imposing a status quo in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem in order to make it difficult for the Palestinians to talk about their independent state.

In a press release, Nofal underlined that the Palestinians lose their lands and their chance to establish their state everyday the Israeli settlements expand and settlers increase.

He underlined that the repeated announcements about confiscating Palestinian lands for building purposes and approving plans to establish settlement outposts or apartment buildings all over Jerusalem and West Bank settlements confirm beyond doubt the Israeli government’s intention to persist in imposing a status quo.

The lawmaker strongly denounced as well the divergent positions of both the USA and Europe regarding settlement expansion.

The lawmaker explained that the Israeli government is indifferent to the positions of the USA and Europe which sometimes declare their rejection reluctantly and at other times give Israel implicit consent to its settlement activities.

“Why do not the USA and the European Union take action against the ongoing settlement expansion in general and in Jerusalem in particular despite their conviction that the Israeli procedures and practices blatantly violate the Palestinian people’s right to their land,” the lawmaker questioned.