ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Friday unequivocally condemned Israel’s continued illegal settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and categorically rejected the “E1” settlement plan and related settlement activities east of occupied East Jerusalem. In a joint statement, they further reiterated their condemnation of the violations and acts of violence perpetrated by settlers, with the support of the Israeli occupying authorities, against the Palestinian people and their property. They stressed that such acts in no way diminish the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and constituted violations of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, while posing a serious threat to regional and international peace and security. The ministers warned that the “E1” settlement plan constituted a dangerous escalation that further advanced settlement expansion and annexation and undermined the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, thereby threatening the viability and realization of an independent, contiguous Palestinian State based on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. APP
