OIC condemns Israeli approval of 34 new West Bank settlements

The Palestinian Presidency’s office condemned the plan as a “flagrant violation of international ⁠law”.The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned Israel’s approval of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying the decision violates international law.Israeli rights group Peace Now reported late on Thursday that the government had taken the decision “secretly” in early April. The decision was also reported widely by Israeli media outlets.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What happens in the occupied West Bank under the shadow of the Iran warlist 2 of 3Palestinians flee tear gas as Israeli settlers arrive in occupied West Banklist 3 of 3Palestine weekly wrap: West Bank attacks surge, Israel restricts Gaza aidend of listThe Palestinian Presidency’s office condemned the plan as a “flagrant violation of international ⁠law”. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government.The OIC’s general secretariat said in a statement on Friday that Israel “the occupying power, has no sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and that all its measures aimed at changing the geographic and demographic reality there are null and void under international law”.The 34 settlements approved on Thursday come on top of 68 approved since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government came to power in 2022.The OIC general secretariat also “warned of the gravity of the escalation of settlement policies, land confiscation, settler terrorism and attempts to annex and impose so-called Israeli sovereignty on the occupied West Bank, stressing that this aims to undermine the two-state solution and violate the rights of the Palestinian people“.‘Serious violation of international law’Turkiye also criticised Israel’s approval of the new settlements, calling it a “serious violation of international law and UN resolutions”.