'A serious escalation': UAE condemns Israeli minister's call for annexing occupied West Bank
Yariv Levin, Israel's Minister of Justice, has called for expanding the scope of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Cabinet ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party also called on Wednesday for Israel to annexe the Israeli-occupied region before the Knesset recesses at the end of the month.
'The task must be completed, the existential threat removed from within, and another massacre in the heart of the country must be prevented,' the petition stated.
In a statement issued by the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the nation affirmed that such statement constitute "a serious escalation and a blatant violation of resolutions on international legitimacy".
It also expressed "its categorical rejection of all provocative statements and measures aimed at altering the legal status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as well as all practices that threaten further escalation and instability in the region and impede endeavours to achieve peace and stability".
Calling on the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to avoid further loss of life, the UAE clarified that it is steadfast in its commitment to reinforcing peace and justice, and safeguarding the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar condemned and denounced statements made by the Israeli minister calling for annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Most countries regard Jewish settlements in the West Bank, many of which cut off Palestinian communities from one another, as a violation of international law.
With each advance of Israeli settlements and roads, the West Bank becomes more fractured, further undermining prospects for a contiguous land on which Palestinians could build a sovereign state long envisaged in Middle East peacemaking.
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