RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has accused Israel of acts amounting to “genocide” in Gaza, in a statement on X on Thursday.

The Kingdom “condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli occupation authorities’ persistence in their crimes against the Palestinian people and their occupied land.”

Tel Aviv was continuing to “displace” Palestinians on their land and preventing them from establishing an independent state.

“This includes their ongoing expansion of settlement construction around occupied Jerusalem, and the expansion of their operations and aggression, amounting to crimes of genocide against defenseless civilians in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry stated.

The ministry condemned what it called “serious violations of international law” and UN Security Council resolutions.

The “implementation of these dangerous Israeli plans … without deterrence” threatens regional “security and stability” and the “legitimacy of the international order,” the ministry stated.

Israel currently faces charges of war crimes and genocide at the International Court of Justice. In addition, the International Criminal Court has issued warrants of arrest for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.