CAIRO, May 30 (MENA) - Egypt strongly condemned on Friday the Israeli occupation authority's approval of the construction of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

It described the move as a new, blatant, and provocative violation of international law and Palestinian rights, noting that the international community, which is aspiring to achieve just-based peace, rejects the step.

In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt reiterated that the decision represents a flagrant breach of the international legitimacy resolutions, topped with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 in Occupied Palestinian Territory, UN Security Council resolutions including Resolution 2334, in addition to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Egypt reaffirmed that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, is a basic right for the Palestinian people and a legitimate, irreversible demand of the international community.

It stressed that the Israeli settlements have no legal basis and constitute a blatant violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies.

The statement further underlined that Israeli settlements constitute a major obstacle to achieving the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace (MENA)
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