European powers condemned, today, Friday, Israel´s decision to approve the construction of thousands of new settlement units in the West Bank, noting that the move is "counterproductive" and undermines peace efforts in the region .
A joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Spain said: "The expansion of settlements constitutes a violation of international law and threatens, to an additional degree, the viability of reaching a two-state solution with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
He added, "As we have affirmed directly to the Israeli government, this step further undermines efforts to rebuild confidence between the two parties with the aim of resuming dialogue." The five countries urged Israel to stop building settlements immediately.
The European ministers stated that moving forward with building more settlements would be "a counter-productive step in light of the positive developments related to the normalization agreements reached between Israel on the one hand, and the UAE and Bahrain" on the other hand.
In mid-September, the UAE and Bahrain signed two agreements sponsored by Washington to normalize relations with the Hebrew state.
And Western powers hoped that the two accords would bring stability to the region and enhance the chances of achieving peace.
The so-called Planning and Building Council of the so-called "Civil Administration" of the Israeli occupation, yesterday evening, Thursday, approved the construction of 3,212 settlement units in various settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
According to the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Hayom", this plan, which was approved, comes as a continuation of the plan announced yesterday with 2,166 other units, bringing the total number to 5,400 settlement units.
The plan was approved eight months after the committee abstained from meeting due to a political matter, by the American opposition.
This is the largest record in recent years of construction, and the scheme had to be approved in advance.
