U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman listens to a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a ceremony for the signing of an extension of the Israeli-US scientific cooperation agreement at the Ariel University.  (Photo: AFP)

Tel Aviv, October 30 (RHC)-- The Donald Trump administration has lifted the bans on investment in settlements illegally built by the Israeli regime on Palestinian lands.

U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement in a ceremony at Ariel University, located within an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Friedman, in part, brought up the so-called Abraham Accords, signed last month between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain despite the outcry from Palestinians and much of the global community.

“Just as we have seen tremendous regional progress on the Abraham Accords, we are also seeing the tangible benefits of President Trump’s policies for bilateral cooperation with Israel,” said the American envoy.

Netanyahu also said that the move would open the region “to academic, commercial and scientific engagement with the United States,” claiming that, “This is an important victory against all those who seek to delegitimize everything Israeli beyond the 1967 lines.”

Emboldened by Trump’s all-out support, Israel has stepped up its settlement construction activities in the occupied territories in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334.

Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem [al-Quds], has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.”

The latest agreement would allow U.S. federal investment in science, research and agriculture projects in the illegal settlements.