Aboul Gheit Condemns Settlement Expansion: A Systematic Erasure of Palestinian Statehood

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the Arab League, issued a blistering condemnation of the Israeli Cabinet’s decision to authorize 19 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Aboul Gheit asserted that such provocative actions represent a blatant defiance of international consensus and a grave violation of international law. Through his spokesperson, Gamal Roshdy, the Secretary-General emphasized that no amount of expansion can grant legitimacy to these outposts, which are designed to shatter the geographical continuity of a future Palestinian state and entrench a regime of permanent occupation.

The statement highlighted that this latest expansionist drive is spearheaded by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Israel Katz, reflecting a government controlled by radical ideologies. With approximately 750,000 settlers now residing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Aboul Gheit characterized the escalating settler violence as a form of "state-sponsored terrorism," occurring under the watchful eye and protection of Israeli security forces. This surge in settlement activity, intensified since the onset of the conflict in Gaza, aims to finalize the annexation of the West Bank, effectively killing the UN-mandated two-state solution and disregarding decades of international pleas for de-escalation.