Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat told reporters on Monday that the US and EU should back the Palestinian Authority’s plan to seek a UN Security Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines. His statement came shortly after the announcement by Israel of approval for the construction of 500 new apartments in Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood and shortly before Erekat met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. The Obama Administration also condemned the building plans on Monday, with Edgar Vasquez, a spokesman for the State Department, declaring “We continue to engage at the highest level with the Israeli government to make our position absolutely clear – that we view settlement activity as illegitimate and that we unequivocally oppose unilateral steps that prejudge the future of Jerusalem.” Read More
