New Settlements In West Bank: Western powers ‘strongly oppose’ Israeli moves

The foreign ministers of five Western powers said yesterday they were "deeply troubled" by the Israeli government's decision to legalise nine West Bank settlements and build thousands of new units.

The ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States said: "We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution".

They underlined their backing for a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties."

"We continue to closely monitor developments on the ground which impact the viability of the two-state solution and stability in the region at large," they added.

Israel's security cabinet had announced on Sunday that it would legalise nine settlements in the occupied West Bank following a series of attacks in east Jerusalem, including one that killed three Israelis.

These so-called "wild" settlements were built without authorisation from the Israeli government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who signed up to yesterday's statement, had on Monday already criticised Israel's plans on advancing settlements.

Israel's moves came on the heels of a visit by Blinken to the region in which he explicitly warned against settlement activity as he sought to ease tensions following violence.

More than 475,000 Israelis reside in settlements in the West Bank, where 2.8 million Palestinians live.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank early yesterday, Palestinian officials said, with the army saying troops opened fire after the suspect approached them with explosives.

The Palestinian health ministry said Mahmud Majid Mohammed al-Aidi, 17, died from "critical wounds he sustained by live occupation (Israeli) bullets to the head" at Al-Fara refugee camp north of Nablus.

The army said Israeli troops carried out "counterterrorism operations" in several West Bank towns and cities early yesterday.