Ramallah: The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned US House Speaker Mike Johnson's visit to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, saying his remarks endorsing annexation constituted a 'blatant violation of international law.'

According to Anadolu Agency, the ministry issued a statement labeling Johnson's support of the annexation as 'provocative incitement that encourages settler crimes and land confiscation.' The statement emphasized that Johnson's position 'undermines Arab and American efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence, while flagrantly contradicting the declared US position on settlements and settler violence.'

The ministry reaffirmed its stance that 'all settlement activity is illegal and void,' stressing that Israel's settlement expansion 'destroys any remaining chance for a two-state solution and undermines prospects for peace.' The controversy arose as Johnson arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday with a group of Republican lawmakers before touring the Ariel settlement.

During his visit, Johnson asserted that 'the mountains of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) are the rightful property of the Jewish People.' The United Nations maintains that all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law and has repeatedly warned that their expansion erodes the viability of a two-state solution.

Since the start of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, at least 1,013 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, the ministry reported. In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.