Published on: 02/14/2023 – 20:44
In a rather rare fact, this Tuesday, February 14, the major Western powers issued a joint press release condemning the Jewish state’s decisions to legalize nine colonies in the occupied West Bank and to plan new housing in existing colonies.
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa
In a joint press release, Washington, Berlin, Paris, Rome and London denounced Israel’s decision to build nearly 10,000 homes Occupied West Bank, as well as the legalization of nine outposts. In other words, until then, wild and illegal settlements, even under Israeli law. The five countries “firmly oppose these unilateral actions, which only increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve the negotiated two-state solution.”
Barely hours after the release of this press release, the Israel High Planning Committee officially approved the construction of these new settlements. The message from the Jewish state is clear: “It is not an international condemnation that will change anything about the situation.” And it’s true, acknowledges a Western diplomatic source: “We are showing total softness towards Israel.”
Western communiqués have never curbed Israel’s thirst for conquest. A creeping colonization that seems almost incurable. Almost half a million Jewish settlers now live in the occupied West Bank. They illegally confiscate Palestinian land and resources.
“Yet there are levers to put pressure on the Jewish state,” recalls a Palestinian source. “The problem is the lack of will. The West rightly did not hesitate to sanction Russia for occupying and annexing Ukrainian territories. And we have the right to press releases, ”says the same source wryly.
► Also Read: Israel/Palestinian Territories: Barcelona Suspends Town Twinning With Tel Aviv