Secretary-General of the Arab League Expresses Concern Over Israeli Occupation's Expansion Plans in the Negev and Galilee

Cairo, August 31 (KUNA) -- Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy expressed deep concern over statements by Israel’s Finance Minister regarding plans to establish new settlement clusters in the Negev and Galilee regions and to increase the number of settlers there, as well as related initiatives targeting the situation of Arab towns.

In a statement issued today, Monday, Fahmy said that these plans, which entail discrimination based on identity and national affiliation, reflect a dangerous escalation of racist tendencies within Israeli society and entrench a policy of discrimination and exclusion at the expense of the principles of equality and the rights of Arab citizens. He warned against the social and political repercussions of consolidating such tendencies and transforming them into public policies.

He viewed these developments as part of a broader context of occupation policies aimed at imposing new facts on the ground, foremost among them settlement expansion and undermining the foundations of a Palestinian state, in violation of international law and threatening the prospects of achieving a just and permanent political settlement.

Fahmy called on the international community to assume its responsibilities in confronting these policies and preserving the foundations for establishing an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, considering the two-state solution as the path to achieving security, stability, and lasting peace in the region. (End) M.M. / S.M.A.