France condemned on Thursday evening the Israeli decision to build around hundreds of housing units in 30 different illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The French government stressed that such a decision threatens the prospects of establishing a viable and continuous Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital of both Palestinian and Israeli states.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Europe and French Foreign Affairs said the Israeli decision confirms concerns raised over recent Israeli demolition orders against Palestinian Bedouin communities in Jerusalem.
The government of France stressed that settlements are contrary to international law as stipulated in United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 and that settlements in all their aspects lead to the de-facto annexation of the West Bank undermine the two-state solution obstruct efforts exerted toward achieving a just and lasting peace and fuel unrest on ground and between people.
“On 22 December the President of the French Republic requested a halt to settlement activities in order to maintain a credible political horizon” said the spokeswoman.
“France primarily seeks to maintain the two-state solution and resume negotiations” concluded the statement.
Earlier Wednesday Peace Now movement revealed that Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman last week announced his intention to submit plans for 2500 settlement units in the West Bank.
Roughly 600000 Israelis currently live on more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built throughout the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since Israel occupied the territories in 1967.
International law views the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity on the land as illegal.
