Turkey lambasts Israel over plans to expand illegal West Bank settlements

Netanyahu delayed announcing the plans for new West Bank settlements in order not to endanger the normalisation agreements with UAE and Bahrain, according to Israeli media reports.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

05 October, 2020

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law [Getty]

Turkey on Sunday strongly condemned Israel for approving 5,400 new units in settlements across the occupied West Bank, despite claims that annexation plans were put on halt following controversial normalisation deals with Arab states.

"Reports of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approving additional illegal settlements in the West Bank is a new proof of this country's occupier ideology, which disregards international law and the United Nations resolutions," a Turkish foreign ministry statement said.

Ankara also urged the international community to stand up for the rights of the Palestinians.

Turkey said Israel's settlement announcement proves that it has not given up on its plans for the annexation of large parts of the West Bank, which the UAE claimed was halted due to its normalisation agreement.

"Recent claims by some countries that they have halted the implementation of these [annexation] plans by signing a normalisation agreement with Israel, clearly shows that it is merely a hoax," the statement said.

Text of the UAE-Israel normalisation agreement also made no mention of the annexation, while Israeli leaders have suggested the plans will still go ahead.

Under the instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a formal session in Israel will be held on 12 October to approve the construction plans and sign off their implementation.

The plans for expansion are reported to include over 2,000 housing units in the ultra-orthodox Beitar Illit settlement near Jerusalem, as well as 629 in Eli, 560 in Gilo, 286 in Har Brakha, 181 in Einav, and 120 in Kedem, according to Israel Hayom.

Read also: 'Cultivating settlements': Israel's colonial expansion rebranded

Netanyahu delayed announcing the plans in recent weeks in order not to endanger the normalisation agreements with UAE and Bahrain, Israeli media suggested, citing a source close to the prime minister.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and considered a major obstacle to any future peace deal.

The International Criminal Court has in recent months been attempting to open a war crimes investigation into Israeli activity in the West Bank and Gaza, which is said to include enquiries into Israel's building of settlements.

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