The European Union has voiced strong concern over the Israeli government’s decision to commit substantial new funding to the expansion of settlements in the Palestinian territories.
In a statement issued on Friday, the bloc warned that the move would further strengthen Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank while fragmenting Palestinian communities and exposing them to increased risks of human rights abuses.
The EU also rejected Israel’s declaration recognising the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev as an official municipality, reiterating that it does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over territories occupied since June 1967, in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The union urged Israel to halt settlement expansion, land seizures, demolitions, forced evictions and other actions that could undermine the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The latest criticism follows the relocation of the first group of Israeli settlers to a newly established settlement overlooking the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday. Palestinian officials condemned the development, describing it as a violation of international law.
An estimated 500,000 Israeli settlers currently reside in the occupied West Bank, while another 250,000 live in occupied East Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Israel approved an 8.5 billion-shekel (approximately $2.3 billion) agreement aimed at expanding settlements in the West Bank. The plan includes the construction of about 12,000 housing units alongside major infrastructure projects.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Israel Land Authority Director Yehuda Eliyahu and Shomron Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan.
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office reported that what it described as Israel’s accelerated settlement expansion and annexation activities have displaced more than 36,000 Palestinians amid violence involving both Israeli security forces and settlers.
According to the UN agency, a 12-month investigation documented 1,732 incidents of settler-related violence, including attacks that resulted in casualties, property destruction, harassment, intimidation and damage to homes and farmland.
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