Arab League condemns Israeli settlement plans

A Palestinian hands his documents to an Israeli soldier manning a checkpoint between the Palestinian city of Nablus and the village of Beit Furik in the occupied West Bank. (AFP/File)

• UN Security Council urged to confront Israel over its annexation of Palestinian land

ALGIERS: The Arab League General Secretariat on Friday affirmed its rejection of all Israeli settlement plans, and condemned what it described as the annexation of Palestinian territory.
Marking the 66th anniversary of the Kafr Qassem massacre, the league in a statement expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people in “confronting and overthrowing colonial schemes in order to restore and exercise their inalienable national rights, and build an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
The massacre was carried out by Israeli border police in 1956 against the people of Kafr Qassem and nearby Arab villages after an Israeli commander issued orders to shoot hundreds of residents while they were returning from work, claiming that they had violated the curfew.
The Arab League also called on the UN, especially the Security Council, to take a firm stance on Israeli killings and to confront Israel’s settlement policies, reported Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
The General Secretariat urged the international community to take deterrent measures in order to stop the violations and protect the Palestinian people in their homeland.
According to the statement, the league stressed the need to compel the Israeli occupation to implement the relevant international resolutions, and work toward a comprehensive and fair two-state solution in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative.