Brussels: Twenty-two countries, including major European powers, the UK, Canada, Japan, and Australia, have issued a joint statement condemning Israel's approval of a significant settlement project in the West Bank. The countries describe the project as 'unacceptable and a violation of international law.'
According to Emirates News Agency, Israel approved plans on Wednesday for a settlement on a 12-square-kilometer parcel of land known as E1, located just east of Jerusalem. The decision has drawn widespread international criticism.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, along with the top diplomat of the EU, released a statement condemning the Israeli Higher Planning Committee's decision. They called for the immediate reversal of the plan, emphasizing that it poses risks to security and could lead to further instability and violence, moving the region further away from peace.
The ministers stressed that the Israeli government still has the chance to halt the E1 plan. They urged Israel to retract the plan urgently, warning that if implemented, it would constitute a flagrant breach of international law by dividing a future Palestinian state and critically undermining a two-state solution.
The joint statement also called on the Israeli government to cease settlement construction in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 and to lift financial restrictions on the Palestinian Authority.