News - Middle East: Israel's recent approval of the E1 colonial settlement plan in the occupied West Bank has drawn widespread international condemnation from over 20 countries, including several European Union members.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers of 21 nations, along with the EU, issued a joint statement calling for the immediate reversal of the plan.

The ministers described the Israeli Higher Planning Committee's decision to approve construction in the E1 area, east of al-Quds, as “unacceptable” and a violation of international law.

The statement was supported by foreign ministers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

They emphasized that the plan offers no benefits to Israelis and only exacerbates violence and instability.

The foreign ministers urged Israel to halt all settlement construction in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334.

They warned that this decision threatens security and moves the region further away from peace.

“Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan. We encourage them to urgently retract it,” the ministers stated, reinforcing that any unilateral actions by Israel undermine collective aspirations for security and prosperity in the Middle East.

The Israeli occupation authorities have approved the E1 project, which involves the construction of 3,400 new colonial units in occupied Palestinian territory, primarily near the existing Maale Adumim settlement.

The plan includes an additional 342 units in a new settlement in Asael, located in southern West Bank. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich commented that this plan is a means of “erasing” the possibility of a Palestinian state.

The UN has already expressed strong opposition to the settlement plan, reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements under international law. The plan was approved on Wednesday and encompasses a 12-square-kilometer area known as E-1, east of the occupied city of Al-Quds.

Last week, Breaking the Silence, an Israeli rights group, called the plan a land grab, which “will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid.”

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli entity and has declared to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed East al-Quds, and Gaza.

Observers say the renewed push for the settlement project appears to be a response to recent announcements by some countries, including the UK, France, and Australia, to recognize Palestinian statehood during the UN General Assembly meetings in September.

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, a settlement subcommittee during the Wednesday meeting also advanced a plan for building 342 more units in the Asahel settlement between east and west Mount al-Khalil.

On August 8, Israel’s war cabinet approved a military blueprint to capture Gaza City and tighten its grip on the besieged strip, which has been relentlessly bombarded since the genocidal war began on October 7, 2023.

In the last 22 months, the Israeli regime has murdered nearly 62,122 Palestinians and wounded 156,758, most of them children and women.

Source: Press TV