The Muslim Council of Elders, chaired by His Eminence Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, condemns the continued illegal settlement policies pursued by the Israeli occupation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and reaffirms its categorical rejection of the “E1” settlement plan and the associated settlement activities east of occupied Jerusalem.
The Muslim Council of Elders stresses that these settlement plans constitute a flagrant violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. They also pose a serious threat to efforts aimed at achieving peace in the region and undermine the territorial contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly between the West Bank and Jerusalem, thereby jeopardizing the prospects for a viable, geographically contiguous, and independent Palestinian state.
The Muslim Council of Elders further reiterates its condemnation of the violations and acts of violence committed by settlers against the Palestinian people and their property, with the support of the Israeli occupation authorities. The Council calls on the international community to assume its responsibilities and take urgent action to halt these violations and illegal settlement expansion, ensure the protection of the Palestinian people and the preservation of their inalienable rights, and work toward a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause, including recognition of the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.