OIC condemns Israel’s plan to build new settler units in West Bank
OIC condemns Israel’s plan to build new settler units in West Bank
M.U.H
15/08/202518
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned Israel’s plan to build over 3,000 new settler units in the occupied West Bank, calling for sanctions on the occupying regime.
In a statement on Thursday, the OIC said the settlement project is “a blatant violation” of international law and United Nations resolutions, stressing that “it must be canceled immediately”.
The statement emphasized that the settlement plans represent a “systematic crime” aimed at imposing a new status quo and undermining any opportunity to achieve the so-called “two-state solution”.
The OIC urged the international community to shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities by taking action to stop the Israeli violations, holding the regime accountable and imposing sanctions on it.
The statement came as Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the pending approval of 3,401 settler units in the E1 area settlement project, which would split the West Bank in half and effectively cut off the West Bank from occupied East al-Quds.
This is while Palestinians want East al-Quds to serve as the capital of their future independent state.
“This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state,” said Smotrich, who also holds a position at Israel’s ministry of military affairs that gives him significant influence over settlement construction.
His remarks came as a growing number of countries have recently announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state in coming months.
The E1 plan has not yet received final approval, which is expected next week.
The Muslim World League also strongly condemned the Israeli plan, with its secretary general Mohammad bin Abdulkarim al-Issa, slamming the Israeli regime’s ongoing policy of disregarding the lives and rights of the Palestinian people, and violating all international and humanitarian laws and norms in the occupied territories.
Al-Issa warned that Israel’s “extremist government”, with its “criminal” behavior, poses a “serious threat” to West Asia and the entire world and constitutes “the greatest obstacle” to achieving just and comprehensive peace.
He reiterated the Palestinians’ right to their land, urging the international community to put an end to the “humanitarian tragedy” that the Palestinian people are experiencing and to support their “legitimate right” to self-determination and the establishment of their state.
More than 700,000 settlers live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
The international community views the settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions due to their construction on occupied territories.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in several resolutions.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced in a ruling in July 2024 that Israel's presence in Palestine is unlawful, and its policies and practices in the West Bank and East al-Quds "amount to annexation of large parts" of the occupied Palestinian territories.
