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.

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.

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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.

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)