File Photo: Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz. AFP
The UN Security Council and International Court of Justice have repeatedly affirmed that Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, violate international law.
The Fourth Geneva Convention specifically forbids an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, yet Israel has continued expanding settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967.
Katz framed the settlement drive as a response to "terrorist organisations" and a defiant message to French President Emmanuel Macron and others supporting Palestinian statehood.
"They will recognise a Palestinian state on paper — but we will build the Jewish Israeli state here on the ground," Katz declared.
"The paper will be thrown into the trash bin of history, and the State of Israel will flourish and prosper."
Speaking at the Sa-Nur settlement outpost, Katz celebrated a site forcibly evacuated in 2005 during Israel’s disengagement from Gaza.
The announcement prompted renewed international criticism. Britain called the move a "deliberate obstacle" to Palestinian statehood. UN chief António Guterres’s spokesman said it pushed efforts towards a two-state solution "in the wrong direction."
French President Macron reaffirmed his support for Palestinian recognition, calling it "not only a moral duty, but a political necessity." An international conference at the UN in June aims to revive talks on a two-state solution, with hopes it will encourage more countries to recognise Palestine.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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