(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia on Friday forcefully criticized the Israeli Security Cabinet’s declaration to seize control of Gaza City, labeling it a “war crime” and “an act of ethnic cleansing” targeting the Palestinian population.

In an official message, the Foreign Ministry stated it “denounces in the strongest and most severe terms any Israeli move to control Gaza.”

The ministry cautioned that the decision amounts to “a clear violation of international humanitarian law” and represents “a blatant disregard for the Palestinian people’s historical and legal rights to their land.”

It also condemned Israel’s “inhumane practices,” such as employing “starvation as a weapon and the continued siege of the enclave,” noting that these measures exemplify an “extremist policy aimed at displacing Palestinians by force.”

Riyadh voiced “deep concern over the failure of the international community,” particularly the UN Security Council, to intervene in the Israeli assault, asserting that “such silence contributes to worsening the humanitarian catastrophe and undermines international legal norms.”

The ministry reaffirmed the kingdom’s appeal for “urgent and decisive international action to halt the aggression, protect civilians, and allow the delivery of immediate humanitarian aid.”

It also restated Saudi Arabia’s unwavering endorsement of a two-state resolution founded on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an autonomous Palestinian nation, in accordance with relevant UN mandates.

Earlier on Friday, Israel’s Security Cabinet unveiled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s initiative to completely take over Gaza City.

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