Fattouh: The Occupation's Approval to Establish 13 New Settlements is an Escalation in the Framework of the Creeping Annexation Policy

SadaNews - Palestinian National Council President Rouhi Fattouh stated that the approval by what is known as the Israeli Security and Political Cabinet, "the Cabinet", to establish 13 new settlements within what is called the Benjamin Settler Council represents a dangerous colonial escalation that falls within the framework of the creeping annexation policy and the forced reengineering of Palestinian geography by imposing illegal settlement realities in the heart of the occupied West Bank, which leads to isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian extension and transforming Palestinian villages and towns into isolated enclaves akin to a system of ghettos exemplified by the apartheid regime.

Fattouh emphasized in a statement issued today, Friday, that the occupation government exploits regional and international disturbances, benefiting from American positions and statements that have provided political cover for its colonial project, in a blatant challenge to the rules of international law and international legitimacy, and continuing the policy of land confiscation, forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and imposing realities by force.

He added that the far-right government is attempting to escape from its internal crises and international isolation by escalating its Judaization and settlement projects and organized terrorism against the Palestinian people, in a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter, and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.

Fattouh called on the international community to isolate the colonial occupying state and impose deterrent sanctions against it, holding all those responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people accountable before international courts, and ensuring that the perpetrators and officials of genocide do not evade accountability to protect international law and safeguard international peace and security.