LONDON: Britain and France were among 21 countries to sign a joint statement Thursday calling Israel’s approval of a major settlement project in the West Bank “unacceptable and a violation of international law.”
Israel approved the plans for the roughly 12-square-kilometer (five-square-mile) parcel of land known as E1 just east of Jerusalem on Wednesday.
“We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,” said the statement of foreign ministers, whose signatories also included Australia, Canada and Italy.
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden also signed the statement, as did the European Commission’s foreign affairs chief.
The statement noted that Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan “will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem.”
“This brings no benefits to the Israeli people,” the foreign ministers said.
“Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.
“The government of Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan going any further. We encourage them to urgently retract this plan,” they added.
The plan seeks to build around 3,400 homes on the ultra-sensitive tract of land, which lies between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim.
All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) has slammed the latest move, which has also been criticized by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Britain on Thursday summoned Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely to the foreign ministry to protest the decision.
“If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution,” the foreign office said in a statement.
21 countries condemn Israel’s West Bank settlement project
https://arab.news/ck9yj
21 countries condemn Israel’s West Bank settlement project
- Britain, France, Japan among those to condemn E1 development as 'unacceptable and a violation of international law'
- Foreign ministers say the plan, backed by extremist cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich, bring 'no benefits to the Israeli people'
1,965 Israeli violations recorded against Palestinians in February
- Head of Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission condemns attacks as a continuation of ‘terror’ against Palestinians
- Violations included assaults, uprooting trees, burning fields and preventing olive pickers from accessing their lands
LONDON: Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,965 attacks across Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank in February, according to a report by the Palestinian Authority.
Muayyad Shaaban, head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, condemned the attacks as a continuation of the “terror” against the Palestinian people, their land and property.
The commission documented 1,454 attacks by Israeli forces and 511 by settlers, most of which were concentrated in the governorates of Hebron with 421 attacks, followed by Nablus with 340, Ramallah and Al-Bireh with 320, and East Jerusalem with 210 attacks.
Violations have included direct beatings of Palestinians, uprooting trees, burning fields, and preventing olive pickers from accessing their lands.
Israeli forces have seized land and demolished homes and agricultural facilities under the pretext of “security,” which has enabled settlers to expand their settlements, according to Wafa news agency.
Shaaban said: “What is taking place represents an organized methodology aimed at emptying the land of its owners and imposing an integrated racist colonial system.”
Israeli settlers have poisoned and uprooted a total of 1,314 trees, including 1,054 olive trees, in the areas of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Tulkarm. The olive groves have been a lifeline for Palestinians in the West Bank, with an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 families relying on the olive harvest for their livelihoods, according to the UN Human Rights Council.
In February, Israeli forces demolished 122 structures belonging to Palestinians, including 56 inhabited homes, nine uninhabited homes, 34 agricultural facilities and 18 sources of livelihood. More than one-third of these demolitions took place in Jerusalem, totaling 46 structures.
