01:59France: Hollande and Abbas condemn Israeli law on W. Bank settlement-building
French President Francois Hollande spoke alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a press conference in Paris, Tuesday, denouncing a law passed by the Israeli parliament Monday that retroactively legalises settlement-building in the West Bank.
“This is the opposite of a two-state solution,” Hollande said, adding that he “would like to believe that Israel and its government will revisit this law and reconsider it.”
For his part, Abbas said that the law clearly “defies international law” and that the Palestinian authorities will not hesitate in taking the matter to international tribunals, “in order to preserve our existence.”
The law, passed yesterday in the Israeli parliament, retroactively legalises almost 4,000 settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank. This comes against the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 which states that Israeli settlements in those areas have no legal basis.
01:59French President Francois Hollande spoke alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a press conference in Paris, Tuesday, denouncing a law passed by the Israeli parliament Monday that retroactively legalises settlement-building in the West Bank.
“This is the opposite of a two-state solution,” Hollande said, adding that he “would like to believe that Israel and its government will revisit this law and reconsider it.”
For his part, Abbas said that the law clearly “defies international law” and that the Palestinian authorities will not hesitate in taking the matter to international tribunals, “in order to preserve our existence.”
The law, passed yesterday in the Israeli parliament, retroactively legalises almost 4,000 settlements built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank. This comes against the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 which states that Israeli settlements in those areas have no legal basis.