Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s increasing settlement activity on the West Bank in a Thursday statement.
The ministry’s statement also stressed the illegality of Israeli settlement activity and its incompatibility with internationally-recognised resolutions.
The Israeli government announced plans to build more settlements in the West Bank last week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid described it as a “major obstacle” to the efforts to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in accordance with previously agreed-upon international terms.
Settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Golan Heights, both occupied since 1967, are considered illegal in international law.
Last year Israel built more than 450 new housing units in the West Bank. The Israeli government launched tenders to build the new units to expand new communities.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, also criticised the settlements as “illegitimate” and as “counterproductive to achieving a two-state outcome”.
Despite occasionally playing up aggressive rhetoric against one another, Egypt and Israel have enjoyed a cooperative relationship since the 1978 Camp David Peace Treaty that paved way for the billions of dollars Egypt receives in ongoing aid from the United States.
