Palestine Condemns Israeli Officials’ Visit to the West Bank

Palestine today criticized recent visits by Israeli officials to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and warned of plans by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to annex that territory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated in a statement that such incursions undermine the two-state solution and questioned the ‘suspicious international silence’ on the issue.

The Foreign Ministry cited as an example the visit of the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, to one of the Jewish colonies, located in the governorate of Jenin, and another of Netanyahu with the president of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson.

Israeli arrogance is part of plans to enshrine the gradual annexation of the West Bank, he stressed.

He assured that the international silence encourages the country to commit further violations and take unilateral action, which undermines the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state.

The colonizers and their terrorist organizations use this silence as a pretext to commit more crimes against Palestinian citizens, their lands, properties, homes and holy places,’ he stressed.

More than 750,000 Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, spread out over 180 settlements and 256 outposts, according to official figures.

The international community rejects this expansionist policy and considers this territory as part of the future Palestinian state.