UN envoy expresses' great concern' over settlement approvals

United Nations Special Envoy Nickolay Mladenov has blasted Israel’s approval of almost 5,000 settlement units, saying that the locations of the approvals in outlying areas of the West Bank are particularly troubling.

“Settlement construction is illegal under international law and is one of the major obstacles to peace,” he says. “This significant number and location of advancements is of great concern to all those who remain committed to advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace,”

He warns that such moves undermine the possibility of a two-state solution, and urges Israel to “cease immediately all settlement-related activities.”