A group of 14 countries, including Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, condemned on Wednesday, December 24, the new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, considered illegal by the international community, and warned that this “unilateral action” threatens to “compromise the implementation of the peace plan for Gaza.”

“We, representatives The group from Germany, Belgium, Canada, "We call on Israel to revoke this decision and cease settlement expansion, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334," the statement said. added.

“We are determined to support the Palestinians' right to self-determination. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace,” the group stated.

The document insisted that “there is no other solution” than the coexistence of “two democratic states, Israel and Palestine,” living “side by side in peace and security.”

within secure and recognized borders.” He also expressed “clear opposition to any form of annexation as well as to the development of the settlement policy.”

69 settlements

The Israeli government's security cabinet approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the West Bank last Sunday, bringing the total number of settlements recognized during the tenure of the current Finance Minister, the far-right settler Bezalel Smotrich, to 69. Smotrich is also responsible for settlement policies in this occupied Palestinian territory.

It is estimated that more than 500,000 settlers currently live in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, and another 200,000 live in East Jerusalem, the eastern part of the city then occupied and annexed by Israel in 1980.