New York: Europe and the Arabs
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, condemned the progress announced last Monday regarding plans to construct more than 5,500 housing units in Israeli settlements in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

He also condemned the retroactive settlement of status - according to Israeli law - in three outposts adjacent to the Eli settlement. According to the United Nations news bulletin, a copy of which we received on Thursday morning

In a statement attributed to his deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq - issued on Wednesday - the Secretary-General reaffirmed that the settlements constitute a flagrant violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

The Secretary-General once again urges the Government of Israel to cease and reverse settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to cease immediately and completely all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and to fully respect its legal obligations in this regard.

He said that Israel's continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "exacerbates humanitarian needs, dramatically fuels violence, increases the risk of confrontation, entrenches the occupation, and undermines the Palestinian people's right to self-determination."

The Secretary-General stated that the current settlements are "eroding the possibility of establishing a sovereign, contiguous and viable Palestinian state - on the basis of the pre-1967 lines - which impedes the ability to achieve a two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace."