Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Qatar and Türkiye condemn Smotrich’s “extreme” statements

For Egypt, the “inflammatory” comments “clearly reflect the Israeli position of rejecting a peaceful solution”

Nov. 13. () –

The governments of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which includes these countries, have condemned in the “strongest terms” the statements made this Monday by the Minister of Finance of Israel, Belazel Smotrich, in which he celebrated that the return of Republican Donald Trump to the White House could open the door to the recognition of Israeli “sovereignty” of the West Bank.

The Foreign Ministries of the aforementioned countries in separate statements have warned about the danger of the far-right minister’s comments, since they undermine peace efforts, foment wars, produce more extremism and multiply the threat to the security and stability of the East. Next.

Its authorities have denounced Smotrich’s statements – which they have agreed to describe as “extreme” – for constituting a “flagrant violation of International Law, International Humanitarian Law and all relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

“They perpetuate the occupation and expansion of the acquisition of territory by force, which constitutes a dangerous precedent,” Riyadh denounced in a statement released by the state news agency Saudi Press Agency, in which it also warned that the “continued international failure” in this crisis will affect the “legitimacy and credibility” of the international system.

For its part, Egypt has also singled out the leader of the Religious Zionist Party for clearly reflecting “the Israeli position of rejecting a peaceful solution for the region and the absence of an Israeli partner capable of making courageous decisions to achieve peace.”

His “inflammatory” comments also “reveal an insistence on adopting a policy of arrogance that has contributed to the current cycle of conflict in the region,” reads a note released by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Along these lines, the Qatari authorities have denounced Smotrich’s proposals “to annex the occupied West Bank”, which shows that “the (Israeli) occupation is an obstacle to any effort for peace and stability” in the area.

For this reason, they have asked the international community to act against “the settlement, colonial and racist policies” of Israel and “its repeated attacks (…) on the brother Palestinian people”, emphasizing its “crimes, its violations of religious sanctities and their plans to Judeize Jerusalem.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have stressed the need to support “all” regional and international efforts to advance the peace process in the region, referring to the two-state solution, and have reiterated their commitment to “the rights of the brother Palestinian people”.

“The Ministry has called on the international community to strive for an immediate ceasefire in order to avoid further loss of life, prevent further worsening of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in the region, and make progress on all efforts to achieve a broad and just peace,” reads the statement issued by the Emirati authorities.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, for its part, has joined these “strong” condemnations of Smotrich’s comments, which it has described as “racist.” The body that currently encompasses 56 states has warned of the dangers of “continued incitement and organized terrorism” by the Israeli leadership “and its extremist settlers against the Palestinian people.”

“The existence of the Israeli occupation regime and its policies of aggression, settlements, forced migration, annexation, destruction and ethnic cleansing are illegal and invalid under International Law,” he said in a statement.

The Israeli Finance Minister said this Monday before a meeting of his party that Israel was “one step away from obtaining sovereignty in the settlements of Judea and Samaria – the biblical name for the West Bank – and now is the time to give it.” even setting 2025 as the date for this milestone, which would imply consolidating the current occupation.