Rodong Sinmun Thursday observes this in a signed commentary.

It goes on:

Israel does not want Mideast peace and a solution to the Palestinian issue but only seeks territorial expansion.

Israel is grabbing one portion of the Palestinian territory after another by building Jewish apartments in the area under its occupation on a large scale in a bid to put the area in its possession.

The expansion of "Jewish settlements" is not a mere issue of building apartments but a very acute and serious political and national issue for the Palestinian people because it is a matter of meekly leaving their inviolable territory to the tender mercy of the aggressors or defending it.

Palestine regards a stop to the expansion of "Jewish settlements" as a fundamental condition for the resumption of peace talks. This is quite a just proposal in the light of the nature and purpose of the talks and from a logical and practical viewpoint.

It is the core issue of ensuring peace in the Mideast to force Israel to take hands off the illegally occupied Arab territories. Without this action on the part of Israel is it impossible to establish an independent state of Palestine or achieve Mideast peace.

It is shameless rhetoric for Israel, an aggressor and territorial grabber, to assert that the expansion of "Jewish settlements" is inevitable because of population growth.

Just is the action of the Arab countries to achieve Mideast peace on the "peace-for-land principle".

The Korean people will as ever positively support the Palestinian and other Arab people in their just struggle, concludes the article.