Cabinet Calls for Urgent Action Against the Establishment of 17 New Settlements

SadaNews - Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mustafa opened the weekly Cabinet session today, Tuesday, updating council members on the latest political communications and movements led by the president and various authorities in defense of our people's rights before all international forums.

In this context, the Cabinet called for urgent Arab, Islamic, and international action to confront the announcement by the occupation authorities to begin establishing 17 new settlements in the West Bank over the next five years. The council emphasized that such aggressive policies would not provide security for any party in the short or long term, and that all unilateral steps merely drive the region towards further tension and instability.

Regarding developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip, the council discussed the efforts of government teams and partnering international institutions working to provide assistance to our people under the umbrella of the government operations room. In this context, the council stressed the necessity to transition to the second phase of the war cessation plan and to expedite recovery and reconstruction arrangements in the sector.

The Cabinet also condemned the invasion by occupation forces yesterday, Monday, of the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, along with the accompanying seizure of agency property. The council warned of the catastrophic repercussions of these illegal Israeli violations targeting a UN organization that provides essential services to our people, based on the provisions of the UN Charter.

Additionally, the council condemned the occupation forces' invasion of Birzeit University and Al-Quds Open University in Abu Dis, in an attack that constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, which prohibits assaults on educational institutions as protected civilian objects, and comes within the context of the systematic targeting of the educational process in Palestinian universities.

Furthermore, the Cabinet approved a system for organizing pilgrimage affairs that contributes to improving the quality of services provided to pilgrims and rationalizing expenses and costs.

It also approved increasing the quantities of cancer medications to meet the needs of patients receiving treatment in the Ministry of Health's facilities.

The council also approved a compensation for debt with the Tubas water facility in exchange for the maintenance of the Tamoun well pump, as well as a compensation agreement with the Joint Services Council for Drinking Water in the Mython area in exchange for the maintenance of the Mython well pump, thus helping to expedite the maintenance of these water facilities and enhance the water supply to meet the needs of citizens in northern West Bank.

Moreover, the council adopted an emergency project to be implemented by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to rehabilitate the main roads in the Al-Fara'a camp to address the effects of the occupation's aggression and to strengthen the resilience of citizens, in addition to other allocations being worked on by the Ministry of Local Government and the Municipal Development Fund to rehabilitate the infrastructure in both Tamoun and Tubas.