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UNITED NATIONS, May 9-- Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Thursday condemned Israeli settlements in occupied territory, saying Israel is turning temporary occupation into permanent annexation. "Israel is violating all core principles (of the law of occupation) and does not hide anymore the true colonial nature of its occupation and its intention to annex Palestinian land," al-Maliki told an Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council. "One of the main aims of the law of occupation is to prevent occupation from being a disguise for colonialism. If you look at the principles that lie at the heart of the law of occupation, you will find they all aim to prevent what should be temporary occupation from transforming into permanent annexation." "Foremost among these principles is the inadmissibility of the acquisition of land by force, and that the occupant does not acquire sovereignty over the territory it occupies," he said. At the inception, Israel had "a grand design and elaborate plan with a clear goal: seize maximum land with minimum Palestinian population," said al-Maliki. The number of Israeli settlers has grown constantly during the last five decades, including in times characterized as times of peace, he said. When the Oslo Accords were signed 25 years ago, there were 100,000 Israeli settlers. Today, there are more than 600,000 Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, he noted. | 
