Egyptian FM Urges Immediate Halt of Israel’s Settlement Activities

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr asked the United Nations to use all its capacities and take practical steps to halt the Zionist regime’s settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.

Amr made the remarks on Wednesday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh where he is attending a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

His comments came after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lashed out at Israel for “illegal” settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, and called on Tel Aviv to avoid provocative moves.

About 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as the number of settlers continues to climb.

Kamel also called on the NAM member states to strengthen their solidarity with the Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails, specially those prisoners who have gone on hunger-strike.

“Tomorrow (Thursday) a special meeting will be held in Sharm al-Sheikh with NAM foreign ministers in attendance to study the situation of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees,” he said.

About 1,550 Palestinian prisoners are now on hunger strike in Israeli jails in protest at their detention.

Prisoners advocacy groups said Palestinian prisoners started an open hunger strike on April 17, Prisoner Day, demanding an end to holding prisoners in solitary confinement, some of whom have spent 10 years in isolation.

The prisoners demand an end to Israel’s practice of administrative detention, under which 322 Palestinians are currently detained; a repeal of a series of punitive measures taken against Palestinian prisoners following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, including the denial of family visits for all Gaza prisoners since 2007 and denial of access to university education since June 2011.

The administrative detention rules allow the Slaughterer Israeli forces to arrest and incarcerate Palestinians without charge or trial.

In reply, Israeli prison guards attacked Palestinian prisoners in an attempt to force the inmates to break their hunger strike.