Jordan’s foreign ministry has condemned in the “strongest terms” Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s announcement that he intends to approve housing units in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, the ministry’s official spokesperson, Ambassador Sufyan Qudah, affirmed Jordan’s “absolute rejection and condemnation of this settlement plan and the illegal Israeli measures that constitute a blatant violation of international law and international Security Council resolutions”.

Qudah warned against the continued expansionist policy of the extremist Israeli government in the occupied West Bank, which the ministry said “encourages the perpetuation of cycles of violence and conflict in the region”.