RAMALLAH, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians will never "bargain" on the UN resolutions, especially on the illegality of the Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian President spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said on Wednesday.
In a statement published by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Rudeineh said that the Palestinians should be allowed to build their houses on all territories occupied by Israel since 1967, reiterating that settlement activity in those areas "is illegal and doomed to end."
The statement was in response to a decision made by the Israeli cabinet late on Tuesday to allow construction of 700 housing units built for the Palestinians in Area (C) in West Bank in exchange for 6,000 new units built for Israeli settlements.
Israeli media reports said that the plan is aimed at facilitating the mission of U.S. advisor Jared Kushner to persuade Arab leaders to attend a peace meeting during his current tour in the Middle East.
Under the Oslo Agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government in 1993, the West Bank was divided into three areas, namely Area (A) under Palestinian control, Area (B) under joint Palestinian-Israeli control and Area (C) under full Israeli control.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye issued a press statement saying that "construction in Area (C) is a right for the Palestinians and it cannot be bargained over the settlement activities."
"We do not need permission from the occupying power to build our homes on our lands. This weak decision aims at deceiving international public opinion, legalizing settlement activity and attempting to equate Palestinian construction on its own land with the colonial settlement construction," he added.
