AMMAN — Israel has dismissed
warnings from the US and its European allies regarding its illegal settlement
activity in the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported.
اضافة اعلان
Despite joint condemnation from the
US, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK,
Israeli forces’ Higher Planning Council
for Judea and Samaria has advanced plans for new West Bank settler housing
units, for what is expected to be a total package of 10,000 new units.
The joint statement issued by the
five countries stated that such steps "only serve to exacerbate tensions
between
Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated
two-state solution."
The US State Department has also
expressed its collective displeasure over settlement activity, while the
Palestinian Authority has called on the Security Council to take action.
The rising tension between the
US and Israel over settlement activity also comes as the Palestinian Authority has
made another push for the Security Council to condemn Israel.
Long ignoredIsrael has ignored international
condemnations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government
viewing settlement activity as a response to rising terror attacks.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
has dismissed international condemnation, stating that
Israel's hold on its
ancestral land and the development of settlements there is "worthy of
praise". Israeli Security Minister
Itamar Ben Gvir has also called for further settlement activity, saying that
"nine settlements is nice but it's still not enough. We want much
more."
Despite the Israel’s pursuit of
settlement activity, Labor Party head MK Merav Michaeli warned against ignoring
the US and other Israeli allies.
"Netanyahu and the frightful
messianic coalition are creating a future for us that is a nightmare of bloody
and never-ending conflict," she said.
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