Washington, Berlin, Paris, Rome and London said they were "
firmly
" opposed on Tuesday (February 14th) to Israel's decision to legalize nine settlements in the occupied West Bank and to project new housing in existing settlements, which "only
increases tensions between Israelis and Palestinians
”.
“
We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which only increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and which undermine efforts to achieve the negotiated two-state solution
,” the heads of diplomacy from the five countries write in this joint statement.
Occupation of the West Bank since 1967
The measures announced on Sunday February 12 by the Israeli security cabinet were presented as a response to a series of Palestinian attacks in East Jerusalem, including one that killed three people on Friday February 10.
The nine settlements in question were previously illegal under Israeli law, because established without the approval of the government, while for the UN any Jewish settlement enterprise in the West Bank is illegal under international law.
Read alsoIsrael relaunches colonization, inflaming tensions
"
Deeply concerned
" by Israel's announcement, the United States and the four European countries recall in their statement that "
a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties
" .
"
We continue to follow closely developments in the situation on the ground that undermine the viability of the two-state solution and the stability of the region as a whole
," they wrote.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Arab-Israeli war of June 1967. More than 475,000 Israelis reside in settlements in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem), where 2.8 million Palestinians live.