The G7 condemned Israel’s West Bank settlement activity these last two months in a statement it issued on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in Washington.
“Israel’s settlement program is inconsistent with international law and counterproductive to the cause of peace,” the foreign ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States said in their statement. The United Nations and the European Union also signed the declaration.
Among the steps it opposed was Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s decision in June to transform five West Bank outposts into five new settlements.
At the time, Smotrich said he created one new settlement for each of the five European countries that unilaterally recognized Palestinian statehood in the last months. He was also blunt about his intention to thwart the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, which he refers to as Judea and Samaria.
The G7 also highlighted the Civil Administration’s decision to reclassify 12,700 dunams of land as state property. It also took issue with the Civil Administration's advancement of plans for 5,295 new settler homes.
“We reaffirm our commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, on the basis of a two-state solution,” the G7 stated.
“We have therefore consistently expressed our opposition to the expansion of settlements and, as in previous cases, we urge the Government of Israel to reverse this decision,” it added.
Palestinian Authority's economic turmoil
The G7 also spoke out about Israel’s policy of withholding tax fees it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to protest its policy of monthly stipends to terrorists and their families.
Smotrich had agreed to release three months of tax fees in exchange for the accelerated settlement activity.
The G7 said the three months of fees were not enough.
“We urge Israel to release all withheld clearance revenues in accordance with the Paris Protocols, remove or relax measures that exacerbate the economic situation in the West Bank,” it said.
Israel must also “take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place with proper controls,” it said.