Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories will undermine the two-state solution and lead to hatred and violence. The minister made his statements before the opening session of an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which kicked off in Cairo on Monday to discuss Washington's changed policy on Israeli settlements in the occupied Arab territories. He reaffirmed that Egypt rejects all unilateral decisions on the final settlement of the Palestinian cause. Shoukry said Egypt's stance on the settlements in the occupied territories is crystal clear, stressing that the settlements are illegal and contradict the international law and relevant resolutions, particularly the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 of 2016. The minister asserted that Egypt fully supports the Palestinian people in their endeavour to bring about fair and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution, the Arab peace initiative and international resolutions on legitimacy to establish a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem. The meeting, chaired by Iraq and attended by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit, was held at the request of Palestine with the support of the member states to consider the "serious" developments in the US administration's stance on Israel's illegal settlements built on occupied Arab lands. Source” MENA
