UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday criticised Israel’s new plans for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and renewed his appeal for a construction freeze to advance peace prospects.

“Progress towards peace requires a freeze of Israel’s settlement enterprise,” Ban told a Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

The UN chief spoke after Israel approved plans to build 153 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, which the Peace Now group said was the first construction project approved in the last 18 months. Last week, Israel declared 370 acres in the West Bank, south of Jericho, as state land.

“These provocative acts are bound to increase the growth of settler populations, further heighten tension and undermine any prospects for a political road ahead,” said Ban.

The United Nations has branded Israeli settlement expansions illegal, arguing that they are an attempt to undermine plans for a Palestinian state by absorbing land earmarked for the new country.

“The parties must act — and act now — to prevent the two-state solution from slipping away forever,” said Ban.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2016