RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday “strongly condemned” Israel’s decision to establish 800 settlement units in the West Bank, Saudi Press Agency reported.
“The ministry renewed its categorical rejection of this move as a new violation of decisions of international legitimacy, a threat to peace and undermines the efforts for a two-state solution,” the statement added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered construction plans advanced on Monday for some 800 Jewish settler homes in the occupied West Bank, anchoring the projects in the final days of the pro-settlement Trump administration.
Palestinians condemned such construction as illegal and most countries view Israeli settlements as violating international law.
An announcement by Netanyahu’s office said the homes would be built in the settlements of Beit El and Givat Zeev, north of Jerusalem, and in Tal Menashe, Rehelim, Shavei Shomron, Barkan and Karnei Shomron in the northern West Bank. It gave no starting date for construction.
Palestinians seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, all land captured by Israel in a 1967 war.
“It is an attempt to race against time and benefit from the last days of the current US administration,” Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told Reuters.
The Trump administration has effectively backed Israel’s right to build West Bank settlements by abandoning a long-held US position that they break international law.
Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said Netanyahu wants the settlement move “to be set in stone before the Biden administration comes into office, and maybe changes Israeli-American tacit understandings on settlements that existed under Trump.”
Netanyahu also wants to tell voters he is “the only leader who can stand up to Biden and make sure he doesn’t dictate our policy in the (Palestinian) territories,” Talshir said.
Most countries view Israeli settlements as violating international law. More than 440,000 Israeli settlers now live among 3 million Palestinians who have limited self-rule under Israeli occupation.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a senior adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said all settlements are illegal and in violation of the international law and UN’s Security Council resolutions.
He said there will no security or stability in the region without the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also expressed its concern over the announcement. It said such measures only undermine the chances for a two-state solution.
The EU also renewed its opposition to the Israeli settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“Settlement activities are in violation of the international law and undermine the peace process,” said a spokesman for the European External Action Service in Brussels.
France on Tuesday also condemned Israel’s move, and in a statement the Foreign Ministry urged Israeli authorities to drop the plan.
Referring to Israel and the Palestinians, who seek a state in Israeli-occupied territory, it said: “(We) call on the parties to avoid any unilateral measures that could jeopardize the two-state solution founded on international law and agreed parameters.”
Saudi Arabia ‘strongly condemns’ Israeli settlement in West Bank
https://arab.news/9f7fx
Saudi Arabia ‘strongly condemns’ Israeli settlement in West Bank
- Kingdom says the move is a threat to peace, undermines efforts for a two-state solution
- France also says it condemns Netanyahu's plan
Saudi minister emphasizes environment as key to public health, economic growth
- Riyadh conference features more than 450 exhibitors from 35 countries displaying sustainability efforts
- Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli highlights Kingdom’s environmental achievements and Vision 2030 goals
RIYADH: Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli said Saudi Arabia considers the environment vital for public health and economic growth, noting that Vision 2030 has been key in revitalizing ecosystems and advancing sustainability in the Kingdom’s national transformation.
He made the remarks during the opening of the IFAT Saudi Arabia conference and exhibition in Riyadh, which brought together global leaders in the circular economy, decision-makers, and investors, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s role in promoting environmental action, knowledge exchange, and partnerships in water and waste management.
Running until Jan. 28, the exhibition focuses on waste management, environmental services, and water, presenting the latest technologies, solutions, and best practices, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
With more than 450 exhibitors from 35 countries and 10 national pavilions, the exhibition highlights the Kingdom’s role as a regional hub for environmental and sustainability sectors.
Visitors explore solutions in waste management, recycling, water treatment, and circular-economy applications, supporting the Kingdom’s sustainability goals and enhancing resource efficiency.
The minister noted significant advancements in the water sector, citing an integrated system covering production, transportation, distribution, treatment, and reuse, with a capacity exceeding 16 million cubic meters per day.
Saudi Arabia also operates one of the world’s largest water transport networks and currently reuses about 33 percent of treated water to support environmental sustainability and improve resource efficiency.
Al-Fadhli highlighted the achievements of the Saudi Green Initiative, which has rehabilitated more than 500,000 hectares of degraded land, planted more than 151 million trees, and expanded protected land and marine areas to about 18 percent, with a target of 30 percent by 2030.
He also noted the establishment of a national regulator for waste management and a comprehensive framework for the waste value chain. The sector offers more than 500 investment opportunities, projected to reach hundreds of billions of riyals over the next 25 years, supported by more than 900 facilities in the Kingdom.
Al-Fadhli expressed hope that the conference would foster partnerships and practical solutions, strengthen the waste management system, and advance the circular economy for a sustainable future.
The National Center for Waste Management signed several memoranda of understanding on the sidelines of IFAT Saudi Arabia to strengthen cooperation in waste management, sustainability, and circular economy practices.
The MoUs reflect the center’s efforts to expand strategic partnerships and enhance institutional integration in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals to protect the environment, improve quality of life, and advance the circular economy.
