Persian Gulf states condemn Israeli plan for settlement expansion

The foreign ministers voiced the condemnation during the body's 156th ministerial meeting in the Saudi Arabia's capital city of Riyadh on Sunday.

The ministers rejected the regime's efforts to annex the settlements or impose its sovereignty over them, saying such efforts are against the resolutions adopted by international organizations, most notably the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

The resolution, which was adopted in December 2016, describes Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds as "a flagrant violation under international law."

The GCC foreign ministers also urged the international community to mount pressure on the occupying regime to reverse its settlement policies.

They reaffirmed their support for the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over the occupied territories, calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital.

Israel has built over 230 settlements since its 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, including East al-Quds. The settlements house more than 600,000 Israeli settlers.

Palestinians want the West Bank to serve as part of their future state, with East al-Quds as its capital.

In another part of their statement, the ministers condemned incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound by Israeli settlers and officials as an extension of the regime's plans to Judaize the occupied city of al-Quds.

The compound, which is located in the Old City of al-Quds, is Islam's third holiest site.

According to an agreement signed between Israel and the Jordanian government following the former’s occupation of East al-Quds, non-Muslim worship at the compound is prohibited.

Illegal Israeli settlers, however, regularly storm the compound amid strict protection provided for them by Israeli forces.