Israeli settlement expansion plot 'dangerous and criminal' step toward annexation: Hamas
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has condemned the Israeli regime's plot to build 12,000 new illegal settlement units in the occupied West Bank, describing the move as a "dangerous and criminal" step towards the annexation of the occupied territory.
Israel on Monday finalized a $2.3 billion framework agreement to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that Israeli media reports said would "provide substantial momentum" for settlement expansion and the "modernization of related infrastructure."
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Hamas said the project is part of the regime's efforts to consolidate full control over the occupied West Bank by confiscating Palestinian land and forcibly displacing its residents.
The movement called on Palestinian factions to adopt a unified position, strengthen resistance and expand all forms of confrontation against Israeli occupation policies, saying the settlement project would ultimately fail in the face of Palestinian steadfastness.
Hamas also urged Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds to intensify resistance, while calling on the United Nations and the international community to move beyond verbal condemnation and take practical steps to halt Israeli settlement expansion and protect Palestinian rights.
The resistance movement added that Tel Aviv has pursued its settlement policy with US backing and amid international silence.
Israel was established in 1948 on Palestinian territory seized by Zionist armed groups. In 1967, the regime went on to occupy the rest of the Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East al-Quds.
Most countries and the United Nations consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on transferring an occupying power's population into occupied territory.
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