RAMALLAH

Palestine’s prime minister on Monday expressed hope that the administration of incoming US President Joe Biden will work to curb Israeli settlement building activity.

Speaking at a weekly Cabinet session, Muhammad Shtayyeh commented on Israel's decision to build 780 new illegal settlement units, saying: "We hope that the next administration and the elected American president will make every effort to curb this settlement attack."

He went on to say that Israel "is not only racing against time, but also receiving the new American president with this package of settlement projects."

Shtayyeh also called for an end to settler assaults and a halt to the "colonialist settlement attack" by Israel, calling on the world to assume its responsibility for achieving a two-state solution.

The Israeli decision to build settlement units is the second this month. On Jan. 11, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu okayed the building of 800 settlement units in the occupied West Bank

Settlement construction quadrupled during the term of President Donald Trump, who will leave the White House on Wednesday.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as "occupied territory" under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat