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AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry condemned on Thursday Israel’s decision, as the occupying power in the West Bank, to approve the construction of 22 new settlements.
The ministry's spokesperson Sufian Qudah called Israel's decision as a "blatant" violation of international law, and a clear affront to the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent and sovereign state on the lines of 4 June 1967, with occupied Jerusalem as its capital.
He reaffirmed the Kingdom’s "absolute" rejection of and firm condemnation of the decision, which contravenes United Nations Security Council resolutions, in particular Resolution 2334.
The resolution denounces all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, including occupied Jerusalem, and affirms that all Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.
Qudah also referred to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which underscored the illegality of the Israeli occupation, the unlawful nature of settlement construction, and the invalidity of all annexation measures of occupied Palestinian land.
He noted that the decision reflects a deliberate disregard for repeated international calls to stop settlement activities and other violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He further stressed that all Israeli actions and decisions in the West Bank are illegal, reaffirming that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories.
Qudah called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities, compel Israel to cease its aggression against Gaza and its dangerous escalation in the occupied West Bank, and ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.
He urged the international community to support the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to establish their independent and sovereign state along the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, stop the crimes committed against them, and hold those responsible to account.