An-Najah News - The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the announcement, on Sunday evening, of the Minister of the Israeli Occupation Defense, Naftali Bennett, of his final approval of a settlement project in the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

It includes the confiscation of Palestinian lands in the Old City of Hebron to construct a settlement road for the use of settlers and access to the Ibrahimi Mosque, in addition to his decision to establish a settlement elevator for the same purpose, leading to a change in Arab and Islamic landmarks and the identity of the Palestinian region.

The ministry considered that the American bias towards the occupation and its colonial projects, which were reflected in the so-called deal of the century, gave the green light to the right-wing ruling in Israel to continue settlement operations and violate the sanctity of Islamic and Christian sanctities, including the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is an integral part of the annexation calls advocated by Netanyahu.

The ministry stressed that this colonial and racist decision is a crime in accordance with international law, the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, which requires the international community to move quickly to put pressure on the occupation authorities to stop them from implementing those judicious projects.

The ministry continued: “The International Criminal Court is also required to initiate an official investigation into the crimes of the occupation and the settlers, to hold the Israeli officials involved in these crimes accountable.”