The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the strongest terms, condemned the Israeli occupying government's decision to establish 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, considering it a public admission of committing war crimes, and a serious step aimed at tightening colonial control over Palestinian land and undermining the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday that this decision is a direct extension of the policies of settlement, annexation, and apartheid, and undermines any real prospect for achieving stability and peace, as it falls within an Israeli policy systematically aimed at imposing colonial realities on the ground and preventing the realization of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The ministry warned that the decision provides political cover for accelerating the plunder of Palestinian lands, expanding the settler infrastructure, and connecting the settlements with colonial road networks, in parallel with the escalation of settler terrorism against Palestinian citizens and their properties in the occupied West Bank.
The ministry emphasized that this measure represents a complete war crime according to the provisions of international law, particularly the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, as well as relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, necessitating international accountability and no impunity.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community to take urgent and effective action to curb these aggressive policies, and to exert real pressure on the occupying government by all diplomatic, political, and economic means, to protect security and stability in the region, and to preserve what remains of the chance to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy resolutions.
The ministry also affirmed the importance of adhering to international positions rejecting settlement and annexation, including the positions of the U.S. administration, calling for an immediate transition to practical steps that put an end to the illegitimate Israeli occupation, alongside accelerating efforts for recovery and reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, considering it an urgent humanitarian and political responsibility.
