Amman, Aug 22 (Petra) – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned
on Saturday Israel’s new settlement plans in the occupied West Bank,
including the E1 project near Jerusalem.

Proceeding with such plans is a blatant challenge to international
law and a systematic undermining of the legitimate rights of the
Palestinian people, said GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Al
Budaiwi.

He said such practices by the Israeli occupation forces will
undermine the chances of peace and threaten international and
regional efforts aimed at setting up an independent Palestinian
state.

Al Budaiwi urged the international community to take “a serious and
responsible” stance to halt the settlement schemes and counter any
measures aimed at changing the geographic and demographic reality of
the occupied Palestinian territories.

He reiterated the GCC’s firm support of the Palestinian people’s
right to establish their independent state on the June 4, 1967
borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the
Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.

//Petra//SS