The Foreign Ministry expressed opposition to the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, saying that the expansion violates international law and UN resolutions.
"Egypt follows up with deep concern the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in East Jerusalem," the ministry’s statement said. "Egypt condemns in this regard the announced position of Israeli officials who lifted restrictions on the construction of settlements in the occupied territories."
"Cairo expresses extreme denunciation of the construction of nearly 800 new housing units in East Jerusalem and the start to build government headquarters in the Mount of Olives,” the statement added. “Endeavors to Judaize East Jerusalem and attempts to separate it from the surroundings Palestinian territories in the West Bank create insurmountable obstacles on the path of a just comprehensive peace between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, because it forms a clear threat to the two-state solution, which the international community agreed to achieve.”
The statement further called on Israel to halt settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, saying such actions threaten regional stability and security, and added that the Egyptian Ambassador to Israel had conveyed a similar message to the Israeli foreign ministry.
Edited translation from MENA
