A group of three Israeli stage actors have protested Tel Avivs settlement construction in the occupied West Bank by refusing to perform in a play before a theater there.On Thursday, the Cameri and Beit Lessin theaters said in a joint statement that the three members had declined to perform at the theater in Ariel, which is a settlement inside the occupied West Bank.
"This is not a boycott. It's my own little protest against a government policy that continues to build settlements," one of the members said.
On Wednesday, an Israeli official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that he "expects" an announcement on new settlements next week, but declined to explain more.
Israeli media also published reports regarding the announcement of "massive construction" plans by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week, with some saying that 1,000 to 2,000 new settlements may be built.
The presence and continued expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine has created a major obstacle for the efforts to establish peace in the Middle East.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem)in 1967.
The United Nations and most countries regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
Israel is particularly sensitive to such sentiments as it is constantly battling against international efforts to impose economic, cultural and academic boycotts upon it over the settlements.
By Press TV
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