Israeli settlements destroy peace process, two-state option

The Israeli government's decision to build illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, including Jerusalem, affirms that Israel has truly jeopardized the peace process and two-state option, a senior Palestinian official said on Saturday. Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Saeb Erekat said, during a meeting with the UN Special Coordinator for the ME Peace Process, Robert Serry, in Ariha in the West Bank, that Tel Aviv is investing in "occupation not peace." Israel's Minister of Interior had given the green light to construct thousands of units in three settlements in Jerusalem to solve housing problems and cut high living expenses. This approval came after another go-ahead of building 9,300 settlement units in Jabal Abu Ghneim in Jerusalem as well. "The international community, including the United states, should respond to such Israeli decisions and policies by supporting the Palestinian effort to gain membership in the United Nation as independent statehood along the border of 1967 of which East Jerusalem is its capital", he concluded.