Ankara condemns Israeli plans for 3,500 settler homes

ANKARA

Israel's recent approval of plans to construct 3,500 housing units in the occupied West Bank has ignited international criticism, with a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemning the move as alarming.

"The plan approved today [March 6] by the Israeli authorities for the construction of 3,500 housing units in the West Bank is a further expansion of the occupation of the Palestinian territories," Öncü Keçeli said in a statement.

The spokesperson called for an immediate halt to Israel's plans.

"In this respect, it is not enough for the international community to refer to the occupation activities in the West Bank as ‘illegal settlements.’ What is in question is the forcible confiscation by Israel of land that legally belongs to the Palestinian people," the statement read.

Israel’s firebrand Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan had received approval from the Higher Planning Council, which authorizes West Bank construction. “We continue to build the country!” he wrote on X. “The enemies try to hurt and weaken us, but we will continue to build.”

The decision concerns 300 new homes in the Kedar settlement and 2,350 in Maale Adumim. Both plans still have to go through a public comment phase before construction can begin. It also advances a previously approved plan to build nearly 700 homes in Efrat to its final approval stage.

The plan’s approval brings the number of settlement housing units approved in the West Bank since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took office to 15,775, according to Israeli watchdog group Peace Now. That’s the highest number over a 15-month period since the group began keeping count.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed disappointment over the Israeli move. Greenlighting the next step for the pre-planned homes comes less than two weeks after he said any Israeli settlement expansion would be "counterproductive to reaching enduring peace" with the Palestinians.

Germany, for its part, condemned Israel for approving the constructions, labeling it a "serious violation of international law" that undermines efforts towards a two-state solution.

"We condemn terrorist violence in all forms in the strongest possible terms. However, terrorism cannot be a justification for continuing to build illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank," the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Egypt and Jordan joined the chorus, accusing Israel of persisting in an illegal settlement policy. ''This decision reflects Israel's persistence on an illegal settlement policy, and violating relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and provisions of international law,'' Cairo said in a statement.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry similarly criticized Israeli settlement activities, asserting that they aim to alter the historical and legal status quo in the occupied Palestinian territories.