The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas, celebrated this Friday the opposition expressed by several European powers to the new settlement plan of Israel in the West Bank, but insisted that it is essential for them to take the next step and turn that stance into concrete actions that halt the plans of Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
According to the WAFA agency, the Palestinian leader positively assessed that the seven countries involved, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway, have reiterated that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are illegal and jeopardize the two-state solution, in addition to warning that the E1 plan threatens Palestinian territorial continuity and the prospects of achieving peace.
Abbas emphasized that, in the face of a project he considers "an extremely dangerous step in Israel's policy of settlement expansion," these governments must go beyond statements and "translate their positions into practical and concrete measures to prevent the implementation of the E1 plan, end all settlement activities, and stop settler terrorism."
In this context, he directed a direct message to the Israeli government to immediately suspend and cancel the new settlement plan in East Jerusalem, which in his view would isolate Palestinian areas and constitute "a flagrant violation of International Law and international legitimacy resolutions."
On Thursday, the governments of seven countries, four of them members of the European Union, demanded that Israel "immediately" stop the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, including the project in E1, an area east of Jerusalem, which they described as "unacceptable."
These settlements "will not only take us further away from peace, but will further undermine Israel's international reputation," warned the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway in a joint statement, noting that the plan jeopardizes the "two-state solution by opening a gap in the West Bank and harming the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian territories."
Later, other countries such as Spain and Belgium joined the condemnation of the new project of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, reminding that the settlements "are contrary to International Law" and urging Israel to reverse its decision.