PARIS: Fourteen countries including France, Britain and Germany on Wednesday (Dec 24) condemned Israel’s recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning the move risks undermining efforts to secure a wider peace.
In a joint statement released by the French foreign ministry, the governments of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom said they opposed the decision by Israel’s security cabinet to greenlight 19 new settlements.
“We recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies,” the statement said.
WARNING OVER INTERNATIONAL LAW
The condemnation followed remarks by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said on Sunday the approvals were intended to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The countries said such unilateral actions “violate international law” and threaten to destabilise the situation at a sensitive moment, as mediators work to advance the second phase of a fragile Gaza ceasefire.
They urged Israel “to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements”, stressing that continued settlement activity could further inflame tensions on the ground.