Iran Condemns New Israeli Settlement Plans
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the Israeli regime’s plans to legalize thousands of settler homes in outposts built on private Palestinian lands, urging legal action by the international society against such flagrant violation of international human rights laws.
In comments on Friday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi called for the prosecution of those behind such brazen violation of the international regulations, saying the Tel Aviv regime’s “illegitimate” existence is founded upon occupation of the Palestinian territories.
He also reminded the whole states and international institutions of their responsibility to force the Israeli regime to obey the international law and regulations.
His comments came after the Israeli parliament’s approval of a bill on Wednesday to legalize some 4,000 illegitimate settler homes in outposts built on private Palestinian land, described by critics as “land grab”.
In the first of three readings needed to turn the bill into law, 57 members of the Knesset voted to approve the draft legislation while 51 opposed.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem (al-Quds), another Palestinian territory.