CAIRO, Nov 12 (MENA) - Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit has vehemently condemned recent statements by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who said yesterday that he hoped Israel would apply its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, the chief of the pan-Arab body described Smotrich's statements as an example of political absurdity, urging the international community to stand firmly against this extremist approach that will only ignite more conflicts in the region and trigger new waves of extremism and violence.

According to Abul Gheit's official spokesman Gamal Rushdie, the chief added that these statements, which pay no due regard to international law, which stipulates that all settlements in the West Bank are illegal, expose the true face of the extremist government in Israel and its schemes to liquidate the Palestinian cause.

Rushdie said participants in the Arab-Islamic summit hosted by Riyadh on Monday had approved a set of mechanisms and action plans to confront the malignant Israeli agenda, whose sole objective is to torpedo any real opportunity to reach a two-state solution. (MENA)

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