ANKARA, Sunday, October 4, 2020 (WAFA) - Turkey strongly condemned the Israeli authorities’ approval to build new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, according to Anadolu new agency.

"Reports of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approving additional illegal settlements in the West Bank is a new proof of this country's occupier ideology, which disregards international law and the United Nations resolutions," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

He stressed that the recent development proves that Israel has not given up on its annexation policy, stating that, "Recent claims by some countries that they have halted the implementation of these [annexation] plans by signing a normalization agreement with Israel, clearly shows that it is merely a hoax."

The Turkish minister emphasized that Turkey does not recognize "these illegitimate steps of Israel," and called on international community to resist efforts that attack the rights of the Palestinian people and their ideal of independence.

The statement noted that Palestinian lands belong to the people of Palestine, affirming that Turkey will continue to stand by the people of Palestine, and support their cause.

T.R.