GCC Secretary-General Condemns Continued Israeli Occupation's Settlement Plans in the Occupied West Bank

Riyadh, August 22 (KUNA) -- The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassem Al-Budaiwi, today Saturday condemned the continued Israeli occupation authorities’ settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including the E1 settlement project. In a statement, Al-Budaiwi affirmed that proceeding with these plans constitutes a blatant challenge to international legitimacy and a systematic undermining of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. He noted that such practices by Israeli occupation forces would undermine prospects for achieving peace and threaten international and regional efforts aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state. He called on the international community to adopt a serious and responsible stance to halt these settlement policies and plans and to counter any measures targeting changes to the geographic and demographic reality of the occupied Palestinian territories. He reaffirmed the GCC’s steadfast position supporting the Palestinian people’s right to establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international legitimacy resolutions. (End) A.S. / N.S.