Turkey Condemns «Unacceptable» «Israeli» Settlement Law

Local Editor

Turkey Tuesday condemned a new "Israeli" law legalizing dozens of settlements built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, as a senior government minister was visiting Tel Aviv in the first such trip in seven years.

"We strongly condemn ‘Israeli' Parliament's adoption of a law that gives approval to various settlements consisting of 4,000 units built on the private property of the Palestinians," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the "unacceptable" "Israeli" policy contradicted UN Security Council resolutions and was "destroying the basis for the ‘two-state' solution".

The new law will allow the "Israeli" entity to legally seize Palestinian private land on which "Israelis" built without knowing it was private property or because the state allowed them to do so.

Critics said it will legalize the "theft" of the land even "Israeli" law had accepted as Palestinian.

Ankara's reaction comes as Tourism Minister Nabi Avci was due to meet with his "Israeli" counterpart in Tel Aviv -- in the first visit by a top government official from Turkey since the two countries last year normalized ties that were badly damaged over the 2010 raid of a Gaza-bound Turkish ship by "Israeli" commandos.

Following the raid, which killed 10 Turkish activists, the two countries pulled their envoys out from their respective capitals as relations fell to an all-time low.

The rift came to an end in June last year after long-running secret talks in third countries. The "Israeli" entity paid compensation, offered an apology and granted Turkey permission to send aid to Gaza through "Israeli" ports.

Turkey is a top tourist destination for "Israelis", with tens of thousands visiting each year.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team