Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt on Thursday sharply condemned Israel’s approval of a new settlement project aimed at dividing the occupied West Bank, warning that it would deepen tensions and undermine prospects for peace.
In separate statements, the three Arab states described the plan, approved by the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as a gross violation of international law and a direct attack on the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state.
With East Jerusalem as its capital on June 4th, 1967.
They warned that Israel’s “illegal and expansionist policies” fuel cycles of violence in the region and called on the international community to act to stop Israeli aggression in Gaza and the escalation in the West Bank.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move as a “serious violation of international law and relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2334,” emphasizing the categorical rejection of Israeli settlement expansion and the forced displacement of Palestinians.
Doha reiterated its firm stance in support of the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the decision to build thousands of housing units for a settlement near Jerusalem reflects a determined resolve to “seize more Palestinian land and change the demographic picture” of the occupied territories.
It condemned Smotrich’s “extremist” statements in favor of settlement expansion, warning that such policies will bring neither stability nor security.
Cairo also warned against the “illusory beliefs” of imposing the concept of “Greater Israel,” calling them unacceptable.
On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Smotrich had approved the construction of 3.401 housing units in the Ma’ale Adumim settlement east of Jerusalem, and another 3.515 in surrounding areas. The project aims to divide the West Bank into two parts, cutting the connection between northern and southern cities and isolating East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vision of “Greater Israel,” warning that it will cement the occupation and make a Palestinian state unviable.
The international community, including the UN, considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that the continued expansion of settlements threatens the viability of the two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In an advisory opinion from July last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
