Spain and Finland have condemned Israel’s approval of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, the biggest expansion in decades.
In a statement on Friday, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said, “The settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, undermine the viability of the two-state solution, and are a threat to peace.”
Madrid also expressed concern over Israel’s intensified attacks in the West Bank.
Since a ceasefire in Gaza was announced in January, Israel has intensified its attacks in Tulkarm, Jenin and other parts of the occupied West Bank.
In March, the regime broke the ceasefire, while it proceeded with its large-scale military raids in the occupied West Bank.
Spain also decried the demolition of Palestinian homes, increasing settler violence and the forced displacement of thousands of Palestinians as clear violations of international humanitarian law.
“Peace in the region requires the realization of a sovereign Palestinian state, comprising Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem [al-Quds] as its capital,” the ministry said.
Finland also rejected the Israeli move, reiterating that “Settlements are illegal under international law.”
In a post on X, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen condemned the Israeli move, saying, “Creating deliberate obstacles to the two-state solution is unacceptable and runs counter to international efforts to advance peace.”
Far-right Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank.
Peace Now, an Israeli non-governmental organization, said it was the largest expansion of settlements since the signing of the Oslo Accords over 30 years ago.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as its capital.
Hamas condemned Israel’s Thursday move as “further confirmation that the criminal Zionist occupation continues to impose facts on the ground by accelerating steps to Judaize Palestinian land within a clear annexation project”.
For its part, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement denounced it as part of a colonial scheme to completely annex the West Bank, displace the Palestinian residents, and fulfill Talmudic dreams by imposing an apartheid regime and committing ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.
The movement stressed that armed resistance is the only effective option to confront these plans.
