Ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy join the United States in saying planned expansion in the occupied West Bank will increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
The foreign ministers of five Western powers say they are “deeply troubled” by the far-right Israeli government’s decision to push ahead with the construction of thousands of settlement units in the occupied West Bank.
Ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy on Tuesday followed the United States in denouncing the planned expansion.
“We strongly oppose these unilateral actions, which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution,” they said in a joint statement.
“We continue to support a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt condemned Israel’s plans on Tuesday.
“The Israeli settlement policy on occupied land is contrary to international law and must be stopped,” Huitfeldt told Norwegian news agency NTB.
The Israeli settlement plans have also drawn condemnation from Israel’s Arab neighbours Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
Israel’s hardline Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday that he wanted to see more Jewish settlements. “The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel,” he said in a video message.
‘Disagreements are allowed’
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet unanimously authorised the legalisation of nine settlement outposts and said it would soon approve additional construction in existing settlements.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said about 10,000 new homes are to be approved.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that he was “deeply troubled” by the Israeli decision, but gave no indication the US would take action against Israel.
Smotrich responded to Blinken’s rebuke by saying his government “clarified our position to the Americans” and “disagreements are allowed, even between friends”.
Ultranationalists who oppose Palestinian statehood comprise a large part of Israel’s new government, which has put settlement construction at the top of its priorities.
Smotrich, a religious ultra-nationalist settler, said he and his allies were “committed to removing completely the restrictions on building” in the occupied West Bank.
A longtime settler leader, Smotrich has been promised authority over the defence body responsible for West Bank settlement construction as part of his coalition agreement with Netanyahu.
He said that once he receives those powers, he would act to “normalise” life for more than 500,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Ben-Gvir added: “This is our mission. This our doctrine. Nine settlements is nice, but it’s still not enough. We want much more.”
Israel captured the West Bank along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state.
Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements illegal and obstacles to peace. Some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.