Turkey reacts to Israel's housing construction

Keçeli reacted to Israel's approval of the plan to build housing in the West Bank. In a post on the X social media platform, Öncü Keçeli stated, "The plan approved today by Israeli authorities for the construction of 3,500 housing units in the West Bank amounts to a further expansion of the occupation in Palestinian territories. This action must be stopped immediately."

Emphasizing that the crimes committed must be defined with the most accurate terminology to prevent Israel from further violating international law, Keçeli stated that it is not enough for the international community to label the occupation activities in the West Bank as "illegal settlements."

Keçeli used the expression, "What is at stake is the forced seizure of land that legally belongs to the Palestinian people by Israel."

ISRAEL'S ILLEGAL SETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES

In Israel, the far-right Minister of Settlements and National Missions, Orit Strock, confirmed today that they had approved the construction of 3,500 new illegal housing units.

The Israeli minister had stated, "Because we own this land, we will build our homeland. Our country will be built despite all the destruction. We will build our homeland with the power of our will."

Israel had agreed to temporarily halt settlement activities at meetings held in Aqaba, Jordan, on February 26, 2023, and in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on March 19, 2023, with the participation of Palestine, Jordan, the US, and Egypt.

Despite the promises made by Israel, settlement activities reached their highest level in the last 10 years in 2023.

Israel's control over East Jerusalem, which it occupied in 1967, and the Jewish settlement units it has built there are considered illegal under international law.