Amman, Aug. 21 (Petra)– The Secretary-General of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussein Ibrahim Taha, has condemned the
Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement of a tender to construct
1,234 new settlement units under the so-called E1 plan in occupied
Jerusalem.

In a statement issued on Friday, Taha said the move constitutes an
extension of Israel’s policies of colonial settlement, annexation,
forced displacement and the imposition of a fait accompli, aimed at
altering the legal, political and demographic status of the occupied
Palestinian territory.

He warned of the grave consequences of the settlement plan, which
threatens the forced displacement of Bedouin communities, isolates
occupied Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, undermines the
territorial unity of the Palestinian land, and obstructs
international efforts to implement the two-state solution.

Taha stressed that Israeli colonial settlements in the occupied
Palestinian territory are illegitimate and illegal under
international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including
UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of
Justice’s advisory opinion on the matter.

He called on the international community, particularly the UN
Security Council, to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and
take immediate measures to compel Israel, as the occupying power, to
uphold its international obligations and immediately halt all its
systematic crimes and violations against the Palestinian people,
their land and holy sites.

//Petra// MF