JERUSALEM 

The Israeli government claimed to have "an exclusive right" to impose its sovereignty over the West Bank, local media reported on Friday.

The statement was made in a written response by Government Secretary Yossi Fox to Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, on June 19 and its content was published for Israeli media on Friday.

In the letter, Fox said the "Jewish people have the exclusive right to self-determine these lands (the West Bank)."

Adalah said in a statement that the letter was in response to a request by the non-governmental organization for authorities to halt recent decisions to allow the construction of hundreds of settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

It added that the Israeli government's response "categorically denied" any right to self-determination for Palestinians on their lands.

Adalah's legal unit head, Suhad Bishara, said the Israeli government's response contradicted international law related to occupied territories.

Estimates indicate that about 700,000 settlers live in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara