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Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Friday joined those condemning Israel's announced construction of roughly 3,300 new housing units in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
“Israel's move to establish settlements, which clearly violates international law and harms the vision of a two-state solution, is unacceptable,” said a Foreign Ministry statement quoted by the Today’s Zaman daily.
The statement claimed that in a period where a significant step has been taken to establish peace with the formation of the unity government between Hamas and Fatah, Israel's “insistence on new settlements” raises questions on its willingness to ensure a lasting peace.
Turkey also called on Israel to put an end to its approach, which it said had drawn strong criticism from the international community.
Plans to build 1,800 housing units in the ten separate communities in the region were unfrozen on Thursday, after tenders for roughly 1,500 new homes in the region were announced Wednesday night.
The moves were part of Israel's response to the establishment of the unity government between Fatah and the terrorist organization Hamas.
The European Union (EU) was quick to condemn the Israeli announcements, saying it is "deeply disappointed" by the Israeli plans to build more Jewish homes in the Biblical heartland of Israel.
"We call on the Israeli authorities to reverse this decision and to direct all their efforts towards an early resumption of the peace talks," the EU said in a statement.
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also joined the condemnation of Israel's announced construction, saying he was "deeply concerned" about it.
"As the United Nations has reiterated on many occasions, the building of settlements on occupied territory is illegal under international law," said Ban’s spokeswoman. It is worth noting that the 2012 Levy Report found that Judea and Samaria are not "occupied territory" under international law.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)