Russia, the United Kingdom and 12 European countries took Israel to task for its advancement of plans for 3,130 settlement homes in the West Bank and its publication of an additional 1,355 tenders this week.
“We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision,” the foreign ministries of 12 European countries said in a joint statement they issued, the first of its kind since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took office.
“We reiterate our strong opposition to its policy of settlement expansion across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which violates international law and undermines efforts for the two-state solution,” the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden stated.
They called on “both parties” to cooperate and reduce tensions towards “creating the conditions necessary for promoting peace.”
UK Minister of the State for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, similarly urged Israel to rescind the plans and tenders, as well as one issued for 83 Jewish homes in east Jerusalem’s new Givat HaMatos neighborhood.
11 EU countries condemning the newly approved settlement homeshttps://t.co/P5AUZMstRP
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) October 28, 2021
“Settlements are illegal under international law and present an obstacle to peace and stability,” he stated.
Russia’s Foreign Minister said that “Moscow is disappointed” with the Israeli decision and reaffirmed “Russia’s principled position that Israel’s settlement activity is illegal.”
The US directly communicated to Israel on many occasions in the past week that it opposes the move, which marks the first time that Israel has substantively advanced settlement planing in Judea and Samaria since US President Joe Biden took office.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Defense Minister Benny Gantz that the approval is “disappointing and it is problematic that it was not coordinated with us. That makes things difficult for us and undermines agreements between the countries.”
Poland’s participation in the group of EU countries condemning the approved plans is noteworthy, as it marks a shift. This comes after Warsaw enacted a law making it practically impossible for Holocaust survivors and their descendants to get restitution for property. Israel strongly criticized the new law, and the countries withdrew their ambassadors.
Sweden’s participation, while in line with its policies, comes soon after a visit by Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde last week and a reconciliation between Jerusalem and Stockholm after seven years of downgraded diplomatic relations due to the latter’s recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Separately, the European Union said it plans to speak with Israel over Gantz’s decision to designate as terror organizations six Palestinian non-governmental groups.
Ganz has offered no evidence as to why they have now been classified as such.
“We will be engaging Israeli authorities for more information regarding the basis for these designations,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.
“The EU has never, and will never finance or support any terrorist organizations. It exercises maximum diligence to avoid any such situation and takes such allegations extremely seriously. If substantiated evidence were to be provided that any beneficiary has made inappropriate use of EU funds, the EU would take action to recover these funds,” he said.
He noted, however, that such listings have “far-reaching consequences for the organizations in political, legal and financial terms.” In the past, he said, such claims against Palestinian civil society have not been substantiated.
“A thriving civil society and respect for fundamental freedoms are cornerstones of open democracies,” he added.