The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned today, Monday, the visit made by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, to the "Ariel" settlement built on the lands of Palestinian citizens in the middle of the occupied West Bank. The ministry confirmed that this visit, along with the inciting statements made by Johnson calling for the annexation of the West Bank, represents a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry pointed out that these statements clearly contradict the announced U.S. position on settlement and settler assaults, considering that such positions encourage the continuation of settlement crimes and the confiscation of Palestinian lands, and weaken the regional and international efforts made to stop the war and violence and achieve calm in the region.

The ministry clarified that settlement in all its forms is illegal and constitutes a major obstacle to the implementation of the two-state solution principle and the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the occupied Palestinian territories. It affirmed that the continuation of settlement threatens the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and enhances the state of escalation and tension in the region.

In a related context, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Johnson's visit and his inciting statements reflect a clear intention to change the legal and historical status in the Palestinian territories, and constitute an assault on the rights of the Palestinian people, contradicting the efforts of the international community to achieve peace and stability in the region.