Amman, Aug. 21 (Petra)-- The Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussein Ibrahim Taha, has condemned the Israeli occupation authorities’ announcement of a tender to construct 1,234 new settlement units under the so-called E1 plan in occupied Jerusalem.

In a statement issued on Friday, Taha said the move constitutes an extension of Israel’s policies of colonial settlement, annexation, forced displacement and the imposition of a fait accompli, aimed at altering the legal, political and demographic status of the occupied Palestinian territory.

He warned of the grave consequences of the settlement plan, which threatens the forced displacement of Bedouin communities, isolates occupied Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, undermines the territorial unity of the Palestinian land, and obstructs international efforts to implement the two-state solution.

Taha stressed that Israeli colonial settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegitimate and illegal under international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, including UN Security Council Resolution 2334 and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the matter.

He called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and take immediate measures to compel Israel, as the occupying power, to uphold its international obligations and immediately halt all its systematic crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, their land and holy sites.

//Petra// MF