Irresponsible Israel

The United Nations' admission of Palestine as a non-member observer state last month must have brought joy to the thousands of Palestinians who gathered in Bethlehem to celebrate this year's Christmas Eve on Monday. Yet, such joy could be overshadowed by Israel's quickened expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

On Monday, Israeli authorities approved the construction of 1,242 housing units in Gilo, East Jerusalem. This is just part of a series of recently announced Israeli construction plans involving thousands of housing units in different areas in lands Israel annexed during the Arab-Israeli War in 1967.

The renewed wave of Jewish settlement construction, which was originally frozen after it was widely condemned by the international community last year, is intended as retaliation to the Palestinians' successful UN bid on Nov 29.