RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday condemned moves by Israeli authorities to push ahead with construction of settlements around the occupied city of Jerusalem.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced pronouncements by Israeli officials to block internationally backed efforts to create a sovereign Palestinian state as part of a solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"These decisions and statements confirm the continuation of the illegal expansionist policies of this Israeli government, its obstruction of the peace process, and the serious threat to the possibility of a two-state solution," the statement said.
Earlier Thursday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that work would start on a long-delayed settlement that would divide the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
Smotrich's office later doubled down by saying the move would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state.
