'Foreign govts won't restrict rights of Jews': Israel rejects 14-nation call to halt new West Bank settlements
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Foreign govts won't restrict rights of Jews': Israel rejects 14-nation call to halt new West Bank settlements")
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar Photograph: (AFP)
Israel has brushed aside pressure from 14 countries to halt new West Bank settlements, calling the criticism discriminatory and wrong. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar says the move is about security, not politics.
Israel on Thursday (Dec 25) has pushed back sharply against a joint call by 14 countries urging it to reverse a decision approving 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing foreign governments of interference and discrimination. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rejected the statement issued by countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and Japan, after Israel’s security cabinet approved 19 settlement moves in the West Bank. In a strongly worded post on X, Sa’ar insisted that "Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel".
Rights of Jews
In his X post, Sa'ar said the cabinet had approved the establishment of 11 new settlements in Judea and Samaria and planned to formally recognise eight additional ones. He said the decision was partly driven by security considerations.
"Israel strongly rejects the statement issued by foreign countries regarding the Cabinet decision on settlements in Judea and Samaria. Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel," Sa’ar said, adding that calls to reverse the decision were and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews." He stressed that all the approved settlements are located in Area C and situated on what Israel considers state land.
"The Cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalise eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing. All of the settlements are located in Area C and are situated on state land."
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What did the 14 nations say?
The joint statement by the 14 countries labelled the move "intensification of the settlement politics" and argued that the move violates international law and risks further destabilising the region at a sensitive moment, particularly amid efforts to move forward with a broader plan for Gaza and regional de-escalation.
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"We, States of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank," reads the joint statement shared by the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Sa’ar countered those claims by invoking historical and legal arguments, "Israel acts in accordance with International Law. The incorporation of the 1917 Balfour Declaration into the Mandate was explicitly agreed upon at the San Remo Conference in 1920. According to the Mandate, the right of the Jewish people to establish their national home extends over the entire territory of 'Mandatory Palestine.' These rights were preserved in Article 80 of the Charter of the United Nations."
He also criticised what he called the "blatant silence of foreign states regarding the Palestinian Authority's illegal construction in Area C is extremely striking".
