joint statement.<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe recall our clear opposition to any form of annexation and to the expansion of settlement policies,\u201d the countries said, adding: \u201cWe call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are resolute in our support of Palestinians\u2019 right of self-determination. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Two-State solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Israel\u2019s far-right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements plan, explicitly saying that the decision was aimed at preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground,\u201d Smotrich said in announcing the plan. \u201cWe will continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors,\u201d he said, according to The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n
Smotrich also said the Israeli government \u201chas approved for construction or retroactively legalised 69 new settlements since it took office at the end of 2022,\u201d The Times of Israel reported.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory \u2013 all of which are illegal under international law \u2013 had reached its highest level since at least 2017.<\/p>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/INTERACTIVE-Occupied-West-Bank-Israel-approves-19-new-illegal-settlements-1766394958.png?quality=80\")
<\/p>\n
The UN considers Israel\u2019s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank a major obstacle to a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, as the illegal constructions leave little contiguous territory for Palestinians and a future independent Palestinian state under a two-state solution.<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera\u2019s correspondent Nour Odeh said the decision by the Israeli government was changing the reality on the ground for Palestinians, as many of the settlement outposts formalised in the latest decision are concentrated in the northeastern part of the West Bank, which had traditionally seen very little settlement activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these government decisions may seem bureaucratic, they are in fact strategic in nature,\u201d Odeh wrote earlier this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey support the more ideological and often more violent settlers entrenching their presence and\u00a0taking over\u00a0yet more Palestinian land, and becoming more brazen in their attacks against Palestinians, which are unprecedented in scope and effect,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fourteen countries condemn Israel\u2019s plans to expand illegal West Bank settlements, express \u2018resolute support\u2019 for Palestinians. Fourteen countries, including Britain, Canada, Denmark and France, have condemned Israel\u2019s approval of 19 new \u2060settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying \u200bthe move was illegal and jeopardised the Gaza ceasefire and \u201clong-term peace and security across the region\u201d. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}