BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi has condemned Israel’s continued expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, including plans to advance the E1 settlement project.
Albudaiwi said moving forward with the plans represents a “blatant challenge to international legitimacy” and undermines the rights of the Palestinian people.
He warned that continued settlement activity damages prospects for achieving peace and threatens international and regional efforts aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state.
The GCC secretary-general also called on the international community to take action to halt settlement expansion and prevent measures intended to alter the geographical and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Albudaiwi reiterated the GCC’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement reflects continued opposition from Gulf states to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and renewed concern over the impact of the E1 project on efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
