The speaker of Egypt’s parliament Ali Abdel-Aal on Tuesday condemned a US decision to reverse a policy on the illegitimacy of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Abdel-Aal said Israel has no right to establish settlements on occupied Palestinian territory, pursuant to relevant UN resolutions.

“Occupation forces have no right to implement illegitimate practices to alter the nature of Palestinian occupied lands,” he said, slamming the decision, which was announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

This is the second response by Egypt to the Trump administration’s announcement, a shift in decades-long American policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“Egypt's stance abides with the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law which views the status of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as illegal and inconsistent with international law,” a statement by the foreign ministry spokesman read.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel annexed in 1967, have long remained an obstacle to a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinians want Israel to dismantle all its settlements in the West Bank, which they hope will become part of a future Palestinian state.

The Trump administration’s decision was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it “rights a historical wrong.”