Turkey condemns Israel over plan to construct new illegal housing units

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey on Oct. 23 condemned Israel over its Higher Planning Council’s plan to approve the construction of 3,100 new housing units in various Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank next week.

"Unilateral and unlawful policies, including the expansion of illegal settlements, that destroy the vision of a two-state solution, which is the only option for a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian conflict, must be ended," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It urged the "international community to take action to ensure the protection of Palestinian lands and the rights of the Palestinian people, in order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the region."

The ministry added that listing six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations is against international law.

Israel's Justice Ministry has outlawed the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights, Al-Haq, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children Palestine, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.