Commenting on the announcement by the Israeli Government that it is planning to proceed with the construction of 3,000 new settlement units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Eamon Gilmore, T.D., said he is "extremely concerned" at the plans.

He said: "The scale of these plans suggests that Israel has no real intention of desisting from expanding and building new settlements, which, it is important to recall, are illegal under international law. This latest announcement conflicts very much with the stated commitment of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Government to making progress through peace talks and achieving a two-state solution.

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"I am particularly troubled by the stated intention to proceed with construction in the E1 area of the West Bank which I visited last January. Any settlement construction in this strategically important area could only be interpreted as an intention to divide the West Bank in two while also further separating Palestinian East Jerusalem from its natural hinterland. I would therefore join with UN Secretary General Ban and others in calling on the Israeli Government to rescind any such plans in the interests of peace.

"Last week's decision by the UN General Assembly to grant Observer State status to Palestine should have provided much needed impetus for the resumption of substantive peace negotiations. It should not be used as grounds for creating further serious obstacles in the path of peace. It is only through direct talks that a just and honourable peace agreement, based on the two-state solution, can be achieved."

(CD/GK)