The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the international and US silence on settlement and Judaization"s operations in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) is a neglect of the two-state solution. A statement issued by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said that these settlement projects target the largest area of C, and are mainly concentrated in occupied East Al-Quds and its surroundings. It condemned the Israeli settlement bullying of Al-Quds, the demolition of homes and ethnic cleansing, and the repression, abuse and restrictions imposed by the occupation authorities on Palestinian people living in Al-Quds. It called on the International Quartet to quickly convene a meeting at the ministerial level in preparation for an international peace conference that may launch serious negotiations under the supervision of the Quartet, in accordance with the principles of international peace and the principles of land for peace, as well as the two-state solution. Earlier, in November, Israel’s plan to build thousands of new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem has drawn strong condemnation from two independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. Settlement expansion “tramples” on human rights law, Special Rapporteurs Michael Lynk and Balakrishnan Rajagopal had said in a statement. Nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers are now living in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, they stated. Israeli authorities, in that month, have approved plans for more than 1,700 new housing units in two settlements in East Jerusalem, Givat Hamatos and Pisgat Zeev, the experts reported. Developments are under way for an estimated 9,000 more in Atarot, and another 3,400 in an area just east of Jerusalem. In the West Bank, plans to construct some 3,000 housing units are also being advanced, while reports indicate the Israeli government wants to retroactively legalize several settlement outputs. — SPA/UN News