Amman, Dec. 8 (Petra) – The Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs on Monday strongly condemned statements made by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Ministry said the remarks coincided with an Israeli government plan to expand and establish illegal colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank, describing these actions as a blatant violation of international law and international humanitarian law. It underlined that such measures undermine the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, ending the occupation, and establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital. The Ministry stressed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
The Ministry’s official spokesperson, Ambassador Fuad Majali, said the Kingdom rejects and strongly condemns the Israeli government's continued settlement schemes in the occupied West Bank and the unacceptable statements issued by its officials. He noted that these actions entrench the occupation, expand settlements, and violate international law as well as resolutions of international legitimacy, particularly United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which denounces all Israeli measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem.
He also cited the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which determined that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and that settlement construction and annexation measures in the occupied West Bank have no legal validity.
Majali called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and compel Israel to halt its dangerous escalation, illegal unilateral actions in the occupied West Bank, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people. He underlined that fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on their national soil, is the only path to achieving a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees security and stability in the region.
//Petra// AJ
