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Published On 22 Aug 2025
The United Kingdom, Australia and Japan are among 21 countries that person condemned Israel’s plans to physique a arguable amerciable colony successful the occupied West Bank, which they accidental renders a aboriginal two-state solution for Palestinians impossible.
“We condemn this determination and telephone for its contiguous reversal successful the strongest terms,” the 21 countries said successful a associated connection connected Thursday, describing Israel’s operation plans arsenic a “violation of planetary law”.
The connection follows quality this week that Israel volition formally determination guardant with a colony connected a 12-square-kilometre (4.6-square-mile) tract of onshore eastbound of Jerusalem known arsenic “East 1” oregon “E1”.
The development, which volition see 3,400 caller homes for Israeli settlers, volition chopped disconnected overmuch of the occupied West Bank from occupied East Jerusalem portion besides linking up thousands of amerciable Israeli settlements successful the area.
East Jerusalem carries peculiar value to Palestinians arsenic the apical prime for the superior of a aboriginal Palestinian state.
The radical of 21 nations said immoderate plans for a two-state solution volition go intolerable “by dividing immoderate Palestinian authorities and restricting Palestinian entree to Jerusalem”.
The radical includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Tánaiste @SimonHarrisTD has joined 21 counterparts from Europe and globally successful condemning plans for colony operation successful the E1 country of the West Bank. These plans are a usurpation of planetary instrumentality & a cardinal menace to the two-state solution – they indispensable beryllium reversed. pic.twitter.com/FTmIbDZbEv
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) August 21, 2025
The amerciable colony besides “risks undermining information and fuels further unit and instability, taking america further distant from peace”, the radical said, portion bringing “no benefits to the Israeli people”.
The Palestinian Authority, the European Commission and United Nations main Antonio Guterres person each voiced absorption to plans for the E1 colony since Israel archetypal announced the quality past week.
“Coupled with ongoing settler unit and subject operations, these unilateral decisions are fuelling an already tense concern connected the crushed and further eroding immoderate anticipation for peace,” the European Union said successful a connection connected August 14.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said settlements specified arsenic E1 volition assistance erase Palestine from the map, adjacent arsenic Palestinian statehood gains expanding planetary designation from UN subordinate states.
“This world yet buries the thought of a Palestinian state, due to the fact that determination is thing to recognise and nary 1 to recognise,” Smotrich said past week.
Source:
Al Jazeera and quality agencies
English (US) ·