France, UK, Germany, 11 others condemn Israel’s expansion of West Bank settlements

Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, condemned on Wednesday Israel’s recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. “We, States of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements […]

Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, condemned on Wednesday Israel’s recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“We, States of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank,” said a joint statement released by the French foreign ministry.

“We recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies,” it added.

In their statement, the countries stressed such unilateral actions “violate international law” and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza as mediators push for the implementation of the second phase of the truce.

The countries urged Israel “to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements”.

They also reaffirmed their “unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution… where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security”.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has also condemned the latest approvals, accusing Israel of tightening its control over Palestinian land.

It said the approvals were a continuation of “apartheid, settlement, and annexation policies that undermine the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people”.

Israel has occupied the West Bank following a war in 1967.

Excluding East Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank – all of which are illegal under international law – had reached its highest level since at least 2017.

Meanwhile, Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by the 14 countries, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

“Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

“The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalise eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing.”

On Sunday, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“On the ground, we are blocking the establishment of a Palestinian terror state,” said Smotrich, a vocal proponent of settlement expansion and a settler himself.

The latest approvals bring to 69 the total number of settlements approved over the past three years by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history.