![A picture taken from the Palestinian village of Qirah, south of Nablus, shows the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the background on June 22, 2020 [JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GettyImages-1221933219.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Egypt’s Al-Azhar condemned Israel’s approval of building thousands of new settlement units in the occupied West Bank, stressing that they are encroaching on the territories of the occupied Palestinian state and provoking Palestinians.
“Al-Azhar confirms its position rejecting such steps that come within the framework of the policy of imposing a fait accompli. This policy will not change the reality of the Arab identity of the Palestinian land, and that the Zionist entity is usurping the lands of the oppressed Palestinian people, the owner the land,” Al-Azhar said in a statement published on Sunday.
Al-Azhar called on the international community to take all measures to stand against the colonial acts practised by Israel which complicate the current situation.
“Those acts are a slap to the UN Security Council’s resolutions and the international decisions related to the Palestinian state’s rights and its cause,” the statement added.
Last week, Israel approved the construction of 4,948 settlement units in the occupied West Bank on the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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