The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s visit to the illegal Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, calling his comments backing annexation a clear breach of international law.
In a statement, the ministry called Johnson's support of the annexation of the West Bank "provocative incitement that encourages settler crimes and land confiscation."
It said the speaker's stance "undermines Arab and American efforts to stop the war and cycle of violence, while flagrantly contradicting the declared U.S. position on settlements and settler violence."
Reaffirming that "all settlement activity is illegal and void," the ministry stressed that Israel's settlement expansion "destroys any remaining chance for a two-state solution and undermines prospects for peace."
Johnson visited Ariel city, the fourth-largest illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, according to Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel.
"Speaker Mike Johnson says that the mountains of Judea and Samaria are the rightful property of the Jewish People," he wrote on X alongside a photo of Johnson as he speaks at an event in the occupied territories.
Johnson and his delegation also intend to travel to Gaza and tour controversial aid centers of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the U.S. and Israel, Israeli officials told Axios.
Access to food, water, and medical supplies remains severely limited in the Gaza Strip due to an ongoing Israeli blockade and poor distribution of aid by the GHF.
Johnson and his delegation will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog as part of an "unusually long" eight-day visit ending on Aug. 10.
The trip was arranged by Heather Johnston, who founded the U.S. Israel Education Association, a conservative pro-Israeli advocacy organization, three Israeli officials informed Axios.
Israeli sources told the media site that the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., learned of the visit unexpectedly and played no role in organizing it. The Israeli Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem were similarly uninvolved in preparations.
The unannounced Republican delegation became public knowledge only after Israeli ministers released statements about their meetings with the group.
The United Nations considers all Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory 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 genocidal 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, according to the ministry.
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.
