ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia on Monday reiterated its rejection of a recent announcement by the United States that it would no longer consider Jewish settlements in the West Bank as unlawful, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Last week, Pakistan also reiterated its position on ‘illegal’ Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory and rejected a statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abandoning the decades-old US position that settlements in Israeli-occupied territory were “inconsistent with international law” and reversing a stand taken under President Jimmy Carter in 1978.
Israel started building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the wake of the Six-Day War in June 1967.
In a speech at an extraordinary session of the Arab League Council held in Cairo, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, reaffirmed his country’s stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
“My government announced a few days ago that Israel’s construction of settlements is contrary to the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law,” the foreign minister said, adding that the new position was an obstacle to the two-state solution and stood in the way of achieving peace in the Middle East.
The minister said the Palestinian issue was a foremost issue for Arabs and Muslims and Saudi Arabia’s position toward it had always been consistent. He added that the Kingdom had spared no effort in supporting the Palestinian people, and believed in the justice of their cause, which required the intervention of the international community.
The Kingdom would continue to support the Palestinian cause until the Palestinian people attained their rights, especially the establishment of an independent state with East Al-Quds as its capital, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions, the minister said.
On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammed Faisal said Islamabad considered all the Jewish settlements in the West Bank “illegal under international law,” adding that the US administration’s endorsement legitimizing the settlements would hamper the viability of the two states solution and prospects of lasting peace in the region.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan reject US backing of Jewish settlements in Palestine
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan reject US backing of Jewish settlements in Palestine
- Last week Secretary of State Pompeo said US would no longer consider Jewish settlements in the West Bank ‘unlawful’
- Israel’s construction of settlements “contrary to resolutions of international legitimacy and international law,” Saudi foreign minister says
At least one killed, nine injured in IED blast in northwestern Pakistan
- Blast takes place near vehicle carrying employees of Lucky Cement factory in Lakki Marwat district, say police
- No group has claimed responsibility for IED blast as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police launch probe into the incident
PESHAWAR: At least one person was killed and nine others were injured in Pakistan’s northwestern Lakki Marwat district on Monday after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast occurred near a vehicle transporting employees of a cement factory, a police official said.
Lakki Marwat police official Shahid Marwat told Arab News the blast took place on the district’s Begu Khel Road at around 6:30 a.m. The explosion occurred near a vehicle carrying employees of the Lucky Cement factory located in the district, he said.
“Initial investigations suggest the device had been planted by militants,” Marwat said. “A rapid police response force was immediately deployed to the scene to evacuate the dead and wounded, secure the area and collect evidence.”
The police officer said several victims were in critical condition and were referred for treatment to the nearby Bannu district, adding that all those affected by the blast were residents of Begu Khel village.
He said police had launched an investigation into the incident.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have claimed responsibility for similar attacks in the past against Pakistani law enforcers and civilians in the province.
The TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani law enforcers since 2008 in its bid to impose its own brand of strict Islamic law across the country.
The attack comes as Pakistan struggles to contain a sharp surge in militant violence in recent months. According to statistics released last month by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), combat-related deaths in 2025 rose by 73 percent to 3,387, compared with 1,950 deaths in 2024.
These deaths included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians, and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said. Most of the attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Pashtun-majority districts and southwestern Balochistan province, the PICSS noted.
On Sunday, three traffic police officials were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Lakki Marwat district. No group claimed responsibility for the incident.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan government of harboring militants who launch attacks against Pakistan, a charge Kabul repeatedly denies. The surge in militant attacks in Pakistan has strained ties between the two neighbors, with Islamabad urging Kabul to take steps to dismantle militant outfits allegedly operating from its soil.
