Ireland joins international condemnation of new West Bank settlements

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has co-signed a statement with 13 other countries condemning new Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In the joint statement issued on Wednesday evening, Helen McEntee and her counterparts said the actions of the Israeli security cabinet “violate international law but also risk fuelling instability”.

A number of EU countries signed the statement along with Canada, Japan and the UK.

They say the decision of Israel to back 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank is “part of a wider intensification” of settlement policies and risks “undermining” the Gaza peace plan and “long-term peace and security across the region”.

The statement – also signed by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain – calls on Israel to “reverse this decision, as well as the expansion of settlements”.

The governments say: “We are resolute in our support of Palestinians’ right of self-determination”.