PLO member criticises Israel over settlements

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee Member Hanna Amira said on Sunday that Israel launched a wide-scale plan to build more settlements while it was negotiating with the Palestinians. Earlier, Israel announced it will establish 1,400 new settlements in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds (East Jerusalem) ahead of US State Secretary John Kerry’s visit to the region. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected such plans in his letter to US President Barack Obama in which he asserted that the main Palestinian demands were summoned in not accepting the presence of any Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian territories after establishing the Palestinian state. During his visit to the region, Kerry is expected to give clarifications over the previous security plans in order to absorb Palestinian opposition’s reactions over the issue, Amira added. Source: MENA