EU, UK, Australia Denounce Israel’s New Settlement Plan to ‘Bury’ Idea of Palestinian State
Australian and British Foreign Ministers have condemned Israel’s plans to establish a settlement east of Jerusalem, according to Reuters.
“The decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law,” the foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
Last week, Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
During his visit to Maale Adumim, Smotrich revealed that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump had agreed to the revival of the E1 scheme, a long-delayed settlement.
“Whoever in the world is trying to recognize a Palestinian state today will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents nor with decisions or statements, but with facts. Facts of houses, facts of neighborhoods,” Smotrich said.
“We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,” said ministers from Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Moreover, EU foreign chief Kaja Kallas, who is the vice-president of the European Commission, joined the statement.
In a response, Israel rejected the statement, saying it “rejects the attempt to impose foreign dictates upon it”.
“The historic right of Jews to live anywhere in the Land of Israel – the birthplace of the Jewish people – is indisputable,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Settlement Plan
In 2012, Israel halted construction plans in Maale Adumim and froze their revival again in 2020 due to opposition from the US, European allies, and other international powers who saw the project as a threat for a future peace agreement with the Palestinians.
However, Smotrich’s spokesperson said the minister officially approved the plan to build 3,401 houses for Israeli settlers between an existing settlement in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
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