Turkey condemns Israel’s new settlement plans

ANKARA

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Turkey has condemned Israel’s plans to build new settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, maintaining that such controversial moves raise question marks over the country’s sincerity to reach a just and permanent peace in the region.

“It is not possible to accept Israel’s settlement activities which constitute an open violation of international law and harm the vision of a two-state solution,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement released June 6.

“Israel’s continued building of new settlements on Palestinian territories through this period, when a significant step for providing Palestine’s unity – which is indispensable for the building of a just and viable peace in the region – has been taken with the foundation of the national unity government in Palestine, leads one to question the country’s sincerity to effect a just and permanent peace,” the ministry said.

“Israel should at once put an end to this stance on which it insists in contrast to all warnings from the international community,” it said.