Fourteen countries, including Britain, Canada and Germany, have condemned the Israeli security cabinet’s approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying they violate international law and risk fuelling instability.
Israel approved a proposal last Sunday for the new Jewish settlements which brings the total number over the past few years to 69, a new record, according to the far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.
“We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements,” said the joint statement released by Britain, which also included Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
The statement continued: “Such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fuelling instability.
“They risk undermining the implementation of the comprehensive plan for Gaza amid efforts to progress to phase 2 and harming prospects for long-term peace and security across the region.
“We recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies, including the approval of the E1 settlement and thousands of new housing units.
“We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements, in line with UNSC Resolution 2334.”
Israel’s latest expansion plan includes two settlements that were previously evacuated during a 2005 disengagement plan.
The approval by the security cabinet increases the number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the current government’s tenure. In 2022, there were 141 settlements across the West Bank. After the latest approval there are 210, according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law.
The statement on Wednesday added: “We are resolute in our support of Palestinians’ right of self-determination. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution in accordance with relevant UN security council resolutions where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders. We reaffirm that there is no alternative to a negotiated two-state solution.”
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