The Fatah party, which leads the Palestinian Authority (PA), once again urges a halt in Israel’s expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian lands.

Secretary of Fatah’s Central Committee Jibril Rajub said on Tuesday that the PA would only enter into direct talks with Tel Aviv "..if settlement building is completely frozen and a timetable for the talks is set in line with clear and specified constants," AFP reported.

The regime continues to violate the demand despite the international community calling the settlements illegal. It recently approved of a plan to build 1,600 new settler units in the West Bank, the area it occupied in 1967 and has been building up ever since.

Israel "does not recognize Palestinian rights," Rajub continued.

"Negotiations are a means and the objective is to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian state," he noted.

"And it does not recognize international legitimacy. The international community therefore should reconsider the legitimacy of Israel, particularly if it continues to ignore Palestinian rights."

(Press TV)