Joint appeal of 14 countries to Israel to stop the establishment of settlements in the West Bank. “Clear opposition to any form of annexation”
Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, Photo: Hazem Bader / AFP / Profimedia Images
A group of 14 countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, condemned on Wednesday evening the recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, urging the Israeli government to change its decision and “stop the expansion of the settlements”, report AFP and Reuters, quoted by Agerpres.
“We, representatives of Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, condemn the approval by the security cabinet of the Israeli government of the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank”, according to a joint statement issued by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We reiterate our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the development of the settlement policy,” the statement added.
On Sunday, the Israeli authorities announced that they had approved the installation of 19 settlements in the West Bank, a measure they said was aimed at “blocking the establishment of a terrorist Palestinian state”, in the context of the intensification of settlement activity since October 7.
The signatory countries of the appeal reiterate that this unilateral action constitutes a violation of international law that “risks jeopardizing the implementation of the peace plan for Gaza, even if efforts are being made to move to the second phase (of this plan), and undermines the prospects for sustainable peace and security in the entire region”, they add.
“We call on Israel to change its decision and stop the expansion of settlements, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334,” the countries write, adding that they are “determined to support the Palestinian right to self-determination.”
The 14 reiterate their “unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, based (…) on the two-state solution, in which two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security, within safe and recognized boundaries”.
Colonization activity has continued since 1967 under every Israeli government, both left and right, and has significantly intensified under the current administration, especially since the beginning of the Gaza war following the unprecedented attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.
In addition to East Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel, more than 500,000 Israelis now live in the West Bank in settlements that the UN considers illegal under international law, amid some three million Palestinians.
