The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the Israeli government’s approval of the construction of 19 new illegal colonial settlements in the occupied West Bank and said the move would further make a “Palestinian state impossible.”
CAIR also condemned the Israeli demolition of an East Jerusalem building and the eviction of its Palestinian residents and the murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank.
Israel’s cabinet has approved 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, drawing condemnation from governments and rights groups.
Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-story residential building in east Jerusalem on Monday, displacing scores of Palestinians in what activists said was the largest such demolition in the area this year.
SEE: Israel demolishes east Jerusalem building, evicting Palestinians
Rayyan Mohammad Abu Mualla, 16, was shot and killed on Saturday in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, during a raid by the Israeli military. Israeli officials say the murder is being “reviewed.”
SEE: Israel ‘reviewing’ killing of Palestinian teen in West Bank
In a statement, CAIR said:
“The Israeli government’s approval of 19 new illegal colonial settlements in the West Bank represents another attempt to make the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible. Despite the ceasefire agreement it supposedly agreed to in Gaza, the Israeli government is forcibly displacing and killing Palestinians across Palestine. President Trump and Congress must bring the crimes of this rogue government funded by U.S. taxpayers to an end and those responsible for these crimes must be brought to justice.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com