RAMALLAH, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official denounced on Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new plan to build a settlement in the West Bank.
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu ordered his office to prepare plans for building a new neighborhood of about 300 homes in the Jewish settlement of Dolev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the Israel-occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu said the move comes in response to a deadly Palestinian bombing attack on Friday, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old Israeli girl and wounded her brother and father.
In response, Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee, described Netanyahu's decision in a press statement as "irrational colonial escalation."
"Corrupt Netanyahu proves that his extremist populist approach in his electoral race has no limits, and for that end, he is willing to wage wars and blow up the region," she added.
Ashrawi accused Netanyahu of trying to win votes of settlers by stealing Palestinian lands and resources, noting it is a violation of international law.
The Jewish settlements are illegal under international law and most of the international community considers them a main obstacle to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
