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Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, vowed to build a "Jewish Israeli state" in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli minister made these statements a day after the Israeli government announced the creation of 22 new settlements in Palestinian territory.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank, seen as a major obstacle to lasting peace, are consistently condemned by the United Nations and considered illegal under international law. Thursday's decision by the Israeli government also faced harsh criticism from abroad.
"This is a firm response to the terrorist organizations that are trying to damage and weaken our control over this land, and it is also a clear message to [French President Emmanuel] Macron and his associates: they will recognize the Palestinian state on paper, but we will build, here, on this land, a Jewish Israeli state," Katz was quoted as saying, according to a statement issued by his office.
"That letter will be thrown into the dustbin of history and the state of Israel will flourish and prosper," he added.
He made these statements during a visit to the Sa-Nur settlement in the northern West Bank.
Settlers from Sa-Nur were evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel's disengagement from Gaza.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
During a visit to Singapore on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that recognizing a Palestinian state, under certain conditions, was "not only a moral obligation, but also a political necessity."
An international conference aimed at reviving the idea of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is expected to be held in June at UN headquarters in New York.
In April, Macron declared that France could recognize a Palestinian state in June.
Following Israel's announcement of new settlements, Britain described the move as a "deliberate obstruction" of Palestinian statehood, while the spokesman for the UN chief, Antonio Guterres, said the decision pushed efforts for a two-state solution "in the wrong direction."/ REL
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