(Source : Anadolu)
Joint statement by more than 20 countries describes plan as ‘unacceptable and a violation of international law’
Malta and Poland on Friday joined a growing list of countries condemning Israel’s decision to approve settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, alongside the EU, described the plan as “unacceptable and a violation of international law.”
The statement called for the decision’s “immediate reversal in the strongest terms.”
The joint statement echoed this concern, arguing that the construction “brings no benefits to the Israeli people. Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.”
The statement urged Israel to reconsider the plan, noting that “the Israeli government still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan (from) going any further” and encouraged them to “urgently retract this plan.”
Highlighting the broader regional implications, the statement added that “unilateral action by the Israeli government undermines our collective desire for security and prosperity in the Middle East” and stressed that Israel must “stop settlement construction and remove their restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority.”