Turkey condemns Israel's new settlement plan

By Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey on Wednesday condemned Israel’s plan to construct over 2,500 new settlement units in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“We strongly condemn the step that Israel took towards the construction of an additional illegal settlement with a total of 2,572 residences, 2,112 of which are in the West Bank and 460 in East Jerusalem with the tenders [Israel] announced today,” said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement.

The statement said Israel, by such actions, intends to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian State with geographical integrity and change the status of Jerusalem.

The increase in the number of such actions before each election reflects a mentality of opportunism, it said, and added that these actions block the means of establishing peace in the region.

The ministry, in the statement, called on the international community to take action to ensure the rights of the Palestinian people and to protect Palestinian territories in the face of the occupying mentality of the Israeli administration.

On Tuesday, Israel published tenders to build 2,572 new settler homes in the West Bank, including 460 units in East Jerusalem.

The move came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 11 approved the construction of 800 settlement units in the occupied territory.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as "occupied territory" under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.