RAMALLAH, Monday, May 8, 2023 (WAFA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates today condemned the Israeli occupation authorities' publication of tenders to build more than 1000 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

It said in a statement that “Israel flouts all international positions and demands, the signed agreements, and United Nations resolutions that call for and demand the cessation of settlement activity, as it is illegal, illegitimate, and a crime that threatens to undermine the principle of the two-state solution and the opportunity to establish the Palestinian state on the ground with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with United Nations resolutions.”

The Ministry considered increasing and expanding settlements “a blatant challenge to the will of the international community, and a disregard for the American and international positions that warn of their dangers on the conflict, and a dangerous escalation of the situation.”

It said that “the occupying state is taking advantage of double international standards to implement more of its expansionist colonial plans, and to move forward with the creeping gradual annexation of the occupied West Bank,” adding that it also believes that “Israel's continued impunity and escaping trial for its crimes encourages it to commit more of them, foremost of which are the settlements.”

The Ministry stressed that “cessation to all forms of settlement activities is the correct approach to restoring confidence between the Palestinian and Israeli parties in preparation for launching a real negotiated political process that puts an end to the Israeli escalation and leads to resolving the conflict through peaceful political means.”

M.K.