Jordan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi on Monday condemned Israel's announcement that it will build new housing units in Judea and Samaria and normalize communities in the region.
Safadi called the Israeli move a “blatant violation of international law and an escalation that will further raise tension”, according to a statement published by the Jordanian Petra news agency.
He reiterated that “settlement activity is an illegal unilateral action that perpetuates the occupation and undermines peace prospects.”
Safadi called upon the international community to take its moral and legal responsibility to put pressure on Israel “to cease settlement building and all other illegal practices against the Palestinian people, which only exacerbate tension and violence that threaten regional peace and stability.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sunday’s cabinet meeting that, in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria, his government would normalize the status of thousands of homes in Israeli towns across Judea and Samaria.
“I have directed that the status of thousands of homes in communities in Judea and Samaria be legalized, that two new industrial zones be established near Avnei Hefetz and Beitar Illit respectively, and that 82 new residential units be approved in Ofra. There will be other steps,” said Netanyahu.
“The Palestinian terrorists think that they can uproot us from the heart of our land. By our actions and the strength of our spirit we will make it clear to them and to the entire world that we are here to stay,” he added.
Also on Sunday, the Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit intends to submit a legal formula that would enable the normalization in status of 80% of communities whose status is currently in doubt, without the need for the Regulation Law.
Last week, Arutz Sheva reported that Mandelblit recently gave the go-ahead to a mammoth legal effort by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked that aims to legalize thousands of homes in Judea and Samaria.
The initiative will normalize the status of thousands of homes which have been in legal limbo for years. The legal opinion was signed after three years of intensive labor by Shaked, Mandelblit and Deputy Legal Advisor Erez Kaminitz.