Shafaq News – West Bank

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned, on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the Ofra settlement, calling it a “colonial provocation” that flouts international opposition to settlement expansion.

Netanyahu toured Ofra on Sunday for its 50th anniversary, meeting veteran settlers and council leaders. In remarks reported by Israeli media, he pledged to preserve settlements and “hold on to the land of Israel.”

The Palestinian ministry asserted that Netanyahu’s visit and statements prove his intent to block Palestinian statehood and entrench occupation through “apartheid, displacement, and annexation,” warning that such steps embolden settlers to intensify assaults on Palestinians and their property while undercutting global efforts to halt settlement growth.

It urged world powers to confront Israel’s annexation agenda, support Palestine’s bid for full UN membership, and strengthen European and international measures to preserve the two-state framework.

Hamas also denounced the visit, labeling Netanyahu a war criminal and portraying his appearance in Ofra as a stark emblem of Israel’s “barbaric settlement policy.” The group cautioned that continued annexation and displacement in the West Bank would trigger wider confrontation, demanding that international actors hold Israeli leaders accountable.