Turkey condemns Israeli plans for new West Bank homes, mosque attacks

Turkey has condemned an Israeli government decision to build more than 1,000 homes in the occupied West Bank, saying the move constitutes a barrier to the launch of direct peace talks with the Palestinians. A statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, released late on Wednesday, said Turkey "strongly condemns" plans to build houses in the Har Homa, Beitar Illit and Givat Zeev settlements. It said the move puts the prospects for a two-state settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at serious risk. "We call on the Israeli government to act in line with its responsibilities stemming from international law and stop actions that harm peace prospects," the statement said. The Israeli Housing Ministry said on Sunday that Israel was marketing land for 500 homes in Har Homa, 348 in Beitar Illit and 180 in Givat Zeev. The move is part of Israeli plans to accelerate settlement building, which came after Palestinians won recognition from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) last month. In a separate statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the recent attacks on mosques and called on the Israeli authorities to take "decisive measures" to prevent the repeat of such attacks and to find and bring to justice the perpetrators of the attacks.