The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia called on Israel to reverse recent decisions to approve more settlement construction in the West Bank, and said they were “gravely concerned” by Jerusalem’s green light to advance plans for some 5,700 new settlement homes. They are part of the 13,082 settlement homes that have been advanced through a pair of major planning stages so far in 2023.
In a joint statement late Friday, the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia and Canada condemned Israel’s “continued expansion of settlements” which they described as “an obstacle to peace” and a move that “negatively impacts efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution.”
“We are gravely concerned by the Government of Israel’s approval on June 26 of over 5,700 new settlement units in the West Bank. We are also concerned by the changes to the settlement approval process instituted by the Government of Israel on June 18, which facilitate swifter approval of construction in settlements,” said James Cleverly, Hon Penny Wong, and Mélanie Joly, the foreign minister of the UK, Australia, and Canada, respectively.
Watch the report from SBS News.