Ankara Slams Israel's 'Illegal' Plans to Build New Housing Units in West Bank
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Turkish Foreign Ministry slammed in a Friday statement Israel's decision to build over 2,000 additional houses in the disputed West Bank territory.
"We strongly condemn the approval by Israel to build nearly 2200 additional housing units in the West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation. We reject this illegal decision of Israel which continues to recklessly violate the relevant United Nations resolutions and international law, in particular, the Fourth Geneva Convention", the statement read.
Some 1,159 housing units have already been given final approval, while 1,032 buildings are at the first stage of the approval process.
The European Union has also slammed the plans as "illegal under international law" and something that undermines the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Ministry approved plans to build 2,191 housing units in the West Bank, with most of them set to be constructed east of the West Bank security fence.
Israel and Palestine have been in conflict for decades. While Palestinians seek recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government denies Palestine recognition and continues building housing units in the West Banks despite objections from international organisations.
- Source : Sputnik News
