The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed that this announcement comes only four days after the Middle East Quartet called on Israel to cease its policy of settlement construction and expansion, Bans spokesperson said.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chose to allow the expansion of a West Bank settlement in the wake of the stabbing death of a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl, reports said on Sunday.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories they are built on were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
Her 19-year-old Palestinian assailant was then shot dead by a security guard.
According to the report, the decision to cut relations with the Quartet was made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who alleges that the global committee is siding with Israel.
The government also pushed forward plans to construct 600 new housing units for Arabs in Beit Safafa, a Palestinian quarter of Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.
The offices of Netanyahu and Lieberman refused to comment on the reported approvals, which follow calls inside Israel for a harsh response to the latest spate of Palestinian attacks.
A day later, Sarah Tarayra, 27, was shot dead after drawing a knife on Israeli forces in Hebron.
Palestinians have been seeking the recognition of their independent state, proclaimed in 1988, in the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
She was a relative of the Kiryat Arba attacker.
Palestinians and Israelis have, understandably, reached a point where many on both sides have lost faith in the others commitment to a future of two states living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, he continued.
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“A good example, just 24 hours after the release of the Quartet report (on Friday), the governorate of Hebron with its population of around 700,000 people is under total military siege”.
