Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide has condemned Israel’s recent decision to seize lands in West Bank.
Israel has approved the appropriation of 12.7sq km (4.9sq miles) of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank where about 6,000 housing units for Israeli settlers are to be constructed.
The Norwegian Minister said in a statement that the recent decisions by the Government of Israel to “legalize” five settlement outposts, to declare 12 700 dunams as “state lands,” and to advance the approval of 6016 housing units in dozens of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, are totally unacceptable.
“Norway condemns these decisions, and we call on the Government of Israel to immediately reverse them,” he stated.
“Israel’s long-held policy of dispossession, land confiscation and establishing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, undermines our collective efforts to realise a two-state solution and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
“Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and they pose a significant threat to peace and security in the region.”
Espen Barth Eide
The Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995 were negotiated in the Norwegian capital and agreed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
They led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority and a degree of self-government in the West Bank and Gaza.
According to Barth Eide, Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live their lives in peace and security, with freedom, dignity and equal rights.
“The two-state solution is the only viable solution to achieve this goal,” he noted.
He asserted that Norway remains committed to the realisation of a viable two-state solution, where two democratic states – Israel and Palestine – live side by side in peace, within secure and internationally recognised borders.
Earlier, Japan slammed Israel for its decision to “legalize” settlement outposts in the West Bank, saying that it violates “international law and undermines the viability of a two-state solution.”
“With regard to the reported authorization by the government of Israel to legalize five outposts in the West Bank, the government of Japan is deeply concerned about and reiterates its deep regret over the continuing settlement activities by the government of Israel despite repeated calls by the international community, including Japan,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
The statement added that Japan also “strongly” urged Tel Aviv to withdraw the decision and “fully” freeze its settlement activities.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Heritage Minister, Amichai Eliyahu, shared a post on X that calls for Israel to reoccupy Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The post called on people to buy shirts that read “occupation now” and show a map of Israel that includes the peninsula, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Eliyahu retweeted the post more than four decades after Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt as part of the two countries’ 1979 peace treaty.
Eliyahu is a member of Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party.
Hamas Decries Land Grab In Occupied West Bank
Hamas slammed the decision by Israel to approve the largest land seizure in more than three decades in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, Hamas said that the move shows the Israeli government’s “blatant disregard for international laws and decisions that criminalise settlements”, while still allowing settlers to continue attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.
These “fascist” decisions, Hamas said, will only strengthen the Palestinian people, their steadfastness towards their land and their “resistance against occupation on all fronts.”
The group called on the UN and the international community to take immediate steps to stop Israel from “changing the reality on the ground”.
Moreover, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidency, also slammed Israel’s move, saying that expanding illegal settlements aims to prevent Palestinians from establishing an independent and contiguous state.
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