Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel’s decision to build 900 settlement homes in Gilo is “another nail in the coffin of the peace process,” member of the PLO executive committee and Chairman of the Department of Jerusalem affairs Ahmed Qurei said Wednesday.

The PLO official called the decision one “disrespectful” to the personal efforts of US President Barack Obama who has been attempting to revive the peace process since he stepped into office more than a year ago.

Israel’s decision to construct more settlements is a violation of all of its commitments under the Road Map plan, Qureia added, and renders moot the Arab Peace initiative. Moreover, he added, it is a move that will make the possibility of reaching a two-state solution at any time in the future “hopeless” and bring the entire region to a place of instability.

Qureia said the Quartet and the United States must put major emphasis on what a two-state solution means when they address Israeli officials. He reiterated the terms of UN resolutions 242, 338, 252, 194, and the Arab peace initiative, which see the current Israeli actions as illegal.

He added that there would be no real peace and security in the region until there is a complete termination of the Israeli occupation in all its forms.