Germany and 13 other countries condemned the approval of new Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. "We reaffirm our clear rejection of any form of annexation and expansion of the settlement policy," said a joint statement, which was also joined by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. The statement added that the move also risks exacerbating instability in the region and jeopardizing prospects for long-term peace.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and a woman hold a map showing the E1 settlement scheme, which separates East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and a woman hold a map showing the E1 settlement scheme, which separates East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank.
The West Bank occupied since 1967
Israel occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River in 1967 and has been under Israeli military administration ever since. Today, more than 700,000 Israeli settlers live there alongside approximately three million Palestinians. Under international law, the settlements are illegal. However, just a few days ago, Israel approved the creation of 19 new settlements. The United Nations considers Israeli settlement construction an obstacle to a possible two-state solution, because the settlements would leave the Palestinians with virtually no contiguous territory. The two-state solution envisages coexistence between Israel and an independent Palestinian state./DW
