Ankara condemns Israeli settlement plan aimed at dividing West Bank

Türkiye condemns Israel's settlement plan aimed at dividing the West Bank and cutting it off from East Jerusalem, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, adding the decision was a total violation of international law.

"This step... totally disregards international law and United Nations resolutions; targets the State of Palestine's territorial integrity, the basis for a two-state solution, and hopes for peace," it said in a statement, reiterating that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state was the only way to achieve lasting peace.

The statement highlighted that the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region is with "the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State with geographical integrity, based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people's just cause and determined struggle.

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas. The project aims to split the West Bank into two parts, severing connections between its northern and southern cities and isolating East Jerusalem.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.