RAMALLAH, August 4, 2025 (WAFA) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the visit by Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson to the illegal Israeli colony of Ariel, built on privately owned Palestinian land in the heart of the occupied West Bank. The ministry described the visit as a blatant violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.

In a statement issued Monday, the ministry strongly denounced Johnson’s inflammatory statements during the visit, in which he called for the annexation of the West Bank.

The ministry warned that such statements fuel settler-colonial violence and encourage further land seizures, in a flagrant challenge to ongoing Arab and American efforts aimed at halting the aggression and achieving de-escalation.

The ministry further stressed that both the visit and the statements made stand in stark contradiction to the publicly declared U.S. position on colonial activities and settler-colonial violence.

It added that such actions damage the credibility of the United States as an impartial mediator and weaken prospects for reviving the peace process.

The ministry emphasized that all forms of colonialism are illegal and illegitimate, constituting a major obstacle to the implementation of the two-state solution and the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace.

It called on the U.S. administration to take a clear and binding position against such actions, which violate international law and undermine de-escalation efforts.

T.R.