The Israeli settlement of Har Homa is seen overlooking the biblical town of Bethlehem, West Bank. On Thursday, the G7 nations condemned Israel’s recent announcement to recognize five more West Bank settlements. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
The Group of Seven nations condemned Israel’s recent move to legally recognize five unauthorized Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, saying it was undermining peace efforts.
“Israel’s settlement program is inconsistent with international law, and counterproductive to the cause of peace,” the nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Staes and the European Union said in a joint statement. Advertisement
Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights are widely regarded as illegal under international law, and greater attention has been placed on Israel’s occupation amid its war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Late last month, Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced the approval of West Bank settlements of Evyatar, Sde Efraim, Givat Asaf, Heletz and Adorayim.
The legalization of the settlements was met by international condemnation.
The European Union swiftly responded by calling the move “another deliberate attempt at undermining peace efforts.” Tor Wennesland, United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said it was “deeply concerning” and would “exacerbate tensions & diminish viability” of achieving peace through a two-state solution. Advertisement
The G7 statement said they are joining the EU and U.N. in “condemning” Smotrich’s announcement.
They added that they also reject Israel’s decision to declare more than 1,270 hectares of the West Bank so-called state land, which the Israeli military’s Civil Administration department had declared June 25 in a document.
It is the largest area designation for declaration since the Oslo Accords of 1993, Israeli settlement monitor Peace Now said in a statement.
“We reaffirm our commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, on the basis of a two-state solution,” the G7 nations said.
“We have therefore consistently expressed our opposition to the expansion of settlements and, as in previous cases, we urge the Government of Israel to reverse this decision.”
The group also called on Israel to release all tax revenues it is withholding from the Palestinian Authority.
The announcement by Israel comes after it announced in mid-June it was accepting proposals to “strengthen” its Jewish settlements, a retaliatory move against Western nations that had taken the mostly symbolic step to recognize a state of Palestine by its 1967 borders, which include the the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Advertisement
Israel also said it would examine responses to the Palestinian Authority over international bodies taking actions it viewed as “against Israel.” Sanctions against the Palestinian Authority, the de facto government of Palestinian territories, were also announced with the recognition of the five settlements.
