Fourteen countries, including major nations such as France, Britain, Canada, and Japan, have condemned Israel’s recent decision to approve the construction of new settlements in the West Bank. In a statement, these countries called on the Israeli government to reverse this step and halt any expansion of settlement activity.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement on behalf of countries including: Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Britain, expressing their strong condemnation of the decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet allowing the establishment of nineteen new settlements in the West Bank.
The statement affirmed the signatory countries’ rejection of all forms of annexation and any expansion of settlement policy, stressing that these unilateral measures, which come in the context of escalating settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also contribute to increased instability.
This international stance came in response to the Israeli Security Cabinet’s approval, on Sunday, of the construction of 19 new settlements in the West Bank. This move has been described as escalatory and has drawn widespread criticism from Palestinians and the international community, with warnings about its direct impact on the chances of achieving a two-state solution.
In contrast, the far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, stated that the goal of this decision is to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, describing the move as “historic,” and affirming that the government will continue what he described as “developing and strengthening settlement.”
According to a statement issued by Smotrich’s office, the number of settlements approved in the last three years has risen to 69, noting that the new sites have “high strategic importance.”
These sites include the reconstruction of the settlements of “Ganim” and “Kadim” in the northern West Bank, which were evacuated about twenty years ago.
This Israeli approval comes days after the United Nations announced that the pace of settlement in the West Bank is accelerating, reaching its highest levels since at least 2017, according to Agence France-Presse.
It is worth noting that former US President Donald Trump had previously warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, a move that ministers in the right-wing Israeli government are seeking to implement as soon as possible, noting in an interview with Time magazine that Israel “would lose all its support from the United States if it did so.”
It should be noted that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, and outposts are also considered illegal under Israeli law.
