RIYADH: Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its rejection of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Monday.

Israel’s security cabinet announced on Sunday that it would legalise nine settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Kingdom’s foreign ministry said it was important that Israeli authorities committed to international resolutions and refrained from taking any unilateral measures that would undermine the chances of reviving the peace process.

It also stressed the Kingdom’s support for the Palestinian cause in accordance with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Israel’s announcement of its annexation of the nine settlements in the occupied West Bank is a “blatantly illegal act which will only increase and inflame tensions.”

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of at least 46 Palestinians.