Countries including Britain, Canada, and Germany condemned Israel's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, saying it violates international law and risks fueling instability.
"We call on Israel to reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements," said a joint statement released by Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain.
"We recall that such unilateral actions, as part of a wider intensification of the settlement policies in the West Bank, not only violate international law but also risk fueling instability," the statement said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the statement by foreign countries in an X post on Wednesday, saying the decision aimed to help address security threats faced by Israel.
"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," he wrote.
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