Turkey Blasts Israel Approving New West Bank Settlements

Palestinians wave a flag during a protest against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah. APA image.

Ankara, 16 Ramadan 1438/11 June 2017 (MINA) – Turkey on Saturday condemned the approval of 2,500 additional Israeli settlements in Palestine’s West Bank.

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Such Israeli construction violates the basic rights of the Palestinian people on their territory, Anadolu Agncy reported, citing the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

The “illegal” settlements are unacceptable, and Israel’s action is damaging the grounds for a two-state solution, it added.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as occupied territories and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land illegal.

Roughly 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built since Israel occupied the Palestinian West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967.

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The Palestinians want these areas — along with the Gaza Strip — for the establishment of a future Palestinian state.(T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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