Fourteen countries, including Canada, the UK, France, and Germany, have condemned Israel’s recent approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Officials warn the move violates international law and risks destabilizing the fragile Gaza ceasefire.

The joint statement from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom expressed deep concern over Israel’s decision.

“We recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies,” the statement read. The countries called on Israel to reverse the plan and reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination.

Officials emphasized their commitment to a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Two-State solution,” warning that settlement expansion undermines prospects for future Palestinian statehood.

Israel’s perspective

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the plan, stating that it aims to prevent the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

“We are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground,” Smotrich said, adding that authorities would “continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors.”

According to The Times of Israel, the government has approved or retroactively legalized 69 new settlements since taking office in late 2022.

United Nations response

The UN previously reported that Israeli settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian territories has reached its highest level since at least 2017.

The UN considers the settlements a major obstacle to peace, as the constructions fragment Palestinian territory, making a contiguous, independent state increasingly difficult under a two-state framework.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Odeh noted that the new settlements are concentrated in northeastern West Bank areas that historically had little settlement activity, highlighting the strategic nature of the government’s decisions.