The Palestinian Presidency on Wednesday accused Israel of dragging the region into a vast explosion, adding that settlement projects in the West Bank will not bring security to anyone.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the approval of the Israeli occupation authorities to build 3,500 colonial units in East Jerusalem highlights its ongoing madness, which has become a threat to security and stability to the entire world.
“These decisions come in the context of the ongoing war against the Palestinian people in all the occupied Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in light of an unprecedented international silence that encourages the Israeli government to commit more crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our people, our land and our sanctities,” the spokesperson said.
The Presidency then noted that the international failure, especially the American one, to punish Israel has encouraged it to persist in challenging and rejecting international legitimacy.
The Palestinian statement came after Israel's National Planning and Building Council approved on Wednesday the establishment of 3,000 housing units in settlements throughout the West Bank, including 694 units in Efrat, 2,052 in Ma'ale Adumim and 330 in Kedar.
The move comes after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last month vowed to expand settlements, in response to Palestinian gunmen killing two Israeli civilians and wounding several others in the West Bank.
Israel has approved a record 18,515 housing units in the settlements since Smotrich assumed power at the defense ministry.
“The enemies try to harm and weaken us but we will continue to build and be built up in this land,” Smotrich wrote on X on Wednesday.
The approval of the new settlements came as Israel is engaged in a war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and amid US and international rejection of settlement construction in the West Bank.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s approval of the construction of new settlement units.
“The colonizer with all its forms is void and unlawful in accordance with international law and international legitimacy resolutions. It is a broader Israeli move to reignite conflict, war cycles and violence,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Also, Egypt condemned the Israeli government’s decision. A statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the decision reflects a deepening policy of illegal colonization, and a violation of Security Council resolutions and of international law.
