Qatar and Egypt condemned a decision by Israel to expand illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reports.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said the decision was “a new episode in a series of its continuous violations of international legitimacy resolutions, especially Security Council Resolution 2334,” in reference to the Council’s resolution passed in 2016 that said Israel’s settlements on Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a “flagrant violation under international law” and a major obstacle to a two-state solution.

Qatar stressed “the need for the international community to stand together to oblige the Israeli occupation to stop its unilateral actions and comply with the international legitimacy resolutions, especially at this critical time.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it is a “clear continuation and persistence in the policy of violating international law and UN Security Council resolutions.

Egypt strongly condemned “Israel’s exploitation of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip to further entrench illegal settlement expansion and attempt to alter the legal status of the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.”

It called on “the international community to intervene to stop Israel’s illegal actions and practices, and the continuous violations of Palestinian rights, and to intensify efforts for the immediate end of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.”