Turkey strongly condemns Israel's settlement acitivities

Turkey has strongly condemned Israel's ongoing settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, part of a settlement plan Israel accelerated after Palestinians won recognition by a UN body, but a move which complicates a return to negotiations. Turkey stressed that moving forward with settlement activities hurts the stalled peace process between Israel and Palestinians.  Turkey and the international community consider settlements Israel has built in the West Bank illegal. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical links to the area, which it calls Judea and Samaria. Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, say settlement expansion will deny them a viable country. Israel says negotiations should resume without preconditions and that most of its settlement construction takes place in areas it intends to keep in any future peace deal. A statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Thursday said Israel's settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories in defiance of constant international criticism prevents revival of the peace process and seriously endanger the vision of the two-state solution. For Israelis, all Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem and its West Bank suburbs captured in 1967, is their "eternal and indivisible" capital, the home the Jews dreamed of through 2,000 years of exile, and the site of their revered Western Wall. For Palestinians, there can be no peace until Israel cedes them control over East Jerusalem, a symbol of their national struggle and home to Islam's third holiest site, al-Aqsa mosque and the glittering Dome of the Rock. In the absence of a deal, or even meaningful negotiations, Israel has been busy developing the holy city, building impressive, stone-clad neighborhoods across the annexed land. Turkey said it strongly condemns Israeli authorities for seeking tender for additional housing units in Har Homa and Pisgat Zeev settlements in the East Jerusalem and approval of new settlements in East Talpiot settlement. Har Homa, bordering Bethlehem, is situated in a part of the West Bank that Israel annexed to Jerusalem after it captured the eastern part of the city in a 1967 war. Har Homa settlement, when completed, would effectively cut off Jerusalem's mainly Arab neighborhoods from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, imperiling the Palestinians' prospects for establishing a coherent capital and with it their goal of an independent state. The statement also said Turkey strongly condemns plans by Israeli Interior Ministry to move National Defense College to a nearby area close to Olive Mountain in East Jerusalem. Turkey said initiatives aiming to alter the status of occupied territories are unacceptable. Turkey also called on the international community to stress that Israeli policies are unacceptable and to take necessary measures to urge Israel to end these activities that greatly damage peace and stability of the region. "Israel must live up to its commitments in line with international law for lasting peace in the Middle East and immediately halt all activities that damage the ground for peace," the statement added. Palestinians have conditioned a return to peace talks on a freeze to settlement building. Peace talks collapsed a year ago over the settlements issue and the Palestinians have since sought recognition for statehood from the United Nations.