Erdogan calls Israeli settlement law ‘absolute provocation’

Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised on Monday Israel’s continuous construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu has reported. During a speech in Bahrain, the Turkish president called it “absolute provocation” and a clear violation of international law. “Ending the illegal settlement activity is a precondition for lasting peace and stability in the Middle East,” he added.

In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. Nevertheless, last week, the Israeli Knesset passed a law that retroactively legalised Jew-only outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the occupied territory, which is illegal under international law.

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According to official figures, the Israeli government has approved the construction of more than 7,250 settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the beginning of this year. Roughly 500,000 Israelis now live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel occupied the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967.

The Palestinians, backed by the international community, want these areas along with the Gaza Strip for the establishment of a Palestinian state. International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land to be illegal.

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In a related comment, Erdogan also criticised an Israeli proposal to ban the Muslim call to prayer being broadcast through loudspeakers. “Everybody, not just Muslims, should be sensitive to all practices that disturb the peace of the international community and hurt the conscience in Jerusalem, which is our first qiblah [the direction in which Muslims turn during prayer],” he said. “Such steps will not be of any use other than to heighten tension.”