Countries urge 'Israel' to reverse plan to build 7,000 new settlements
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Six European countries call on "Israel" to halt settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
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A view of the Israeli settlement of Kedar, in the West Bank, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (AP)
Six European countries have urged "Israel" to halt the expansion of its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, as tensions between Palestinians and extremist settlers have risen.
Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, and Spain said in a joint statement on Saturday that the occupation should "reverse its recent decision to advance the construction of more than 7,000 settlement building units across the occupied West Bank and legalize settlement outposts."
The Israeli occupation cabinet approved the construction of more than 7,000 illegal settler units on February 15 in the occupied West Bank, with the Palestinian Information Center revealing the exact number of the planned units at 7,032.
Over 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since "Israel's" 1967 occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Al-Quds.
Read next: All Israeli settlements are illegal, they must stop: UN Chief
Under international law, all Israeli settlements are illegal, and the United Nations Security Council has condemned Israeli settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
The joint statement came a day after the European Union's envoy to the Palestinians called for accountability and the prosecution of perpetrators after illegal settlers went on a rampage near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.
Hundreds of armed Israeli settlers attacked Huwara and nearby villages on Sunday night, torching dozens of houses and cars. They were enraged by the killing of two Israeli brothers in Huwara by a Palestinian gunman.
During the settler rampage, one Palestinian was killed and at least 390 others were injured, with Palestinian media reporting stabbings and attacks with metal rods and rocks.
Read next: Extremists behind Huwara rampage released, Hamas condemns
Israeli judicial officials released most of the settlers who were arrested after the Huwara pogrom on Thursday night. They were released based on a court ruling that claimed that there was not enough evidence to convict the settlers.
