Turkey condemns Israel’s approval of new settlements

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Friday “strongly condemned” the Israeli government’s approval of the construction of hundreds of new settlement units in the West Bank.

“We strongly condemn the irresponsible approval by the Israeli authorities to build 2,000 additional units in its illegal settlements in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, which are under Israeli occupation and the relentless decision to demolish the houses of Palestinian Bedouins which are located around East Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We resolutely reject these steps, which disregard international law,” it added.

Roughly 600,000 Israelis currently live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Israel occupied the territories in 1967.

The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for a future state of Palestine.

International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land illegal.