RAMALLAH, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Saturday slammed U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's remarks supporting Israeli settlements, saying they were "contrary to the international consensus."
"All Israeli settlement activity is illegal and constitutes a violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions," Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a press statement published by the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
The spokesperson's remarks came in response to Huckabee's statement asserting that no reaction was needed to Israel's Thursday Security Cabinet decision granting legal status to 19 settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Abu Rudeineh said the American diplomat's comments were "contrary to the international consensus embodied in Resolution 2334, which voted against settlements and deemed them all illegal," stressing that "no one is authorized to legitimize the occupation and its policies."
He called on the U.S. administration to adhere to international law and UN resolutions if it seeks to halt violence and escalation and achieve a just, lasting peace in the Middle East, emphasizing that recognizing legitimate Palestinian rights is the only way to achieve peace and security for all.
On Thursday, Israel's Security Cabinet approved a request to legalize 19 settlements in the West Bank, according to Israeli media.
In a press statement, Speaker of the Palestinian National Council Rawhi Fattouh said the move represents a systematic expansion of a colonial structure seeking to impose coercive realities on the ground.
Hamas also warned against the escalating settlement activity, saying it reflects clear plans to redraw the Palestinian map, isolate cities and villages from one another, and push for the silent displacement of Palestinians as part of a project to depopulate the West Bank. ■
