Cairo [Egypt], May 31: Egypt on Friday condemned Israel's decision to establish 22 new settlements in the West Bank.
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the move a provocation and a flagrant violation of international law and Palestinian rights.
The decision is "rejected by the international community, which aspires to peace on a just basis," said the statement.
The decision constitutes a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions, the statement read, adding the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is an inalienable right of the Palestinian people and a legitimate, irreversible international demand.
It also emphasized that Israeli settlements have no legal basis and constitute a major obstacle to achieving a two-state solution and a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace.
On Thursday, Israel said it will establish 22 new settlements across the occupied West Bank, in what Israeli officials described as a strategic expansion of Israeli presence in the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed the Security Cabinet's approval of the plan, calling it a "historic decision" to "strengthen our grip" on the West Bank.
Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has expanded settlements there ever since. Currently, more than 720,000 Israeli settlers live in heavily-guarded communities there.
The UN Resolution 2334, along with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, maintains that all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal.
The international community widely considers the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, where the Palestinians wish to establish their future state, an obstacle to achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
