ROME: Foreign Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies on Thursday criticized Israel’s recent actions to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, labeling them as “detrimental to the prospects for peace.”
Last month, Israel announced plans to legalize five outposts, establish three new settlements, and appropriate large areas of land in the West Bank, where Palestinians seek to create an independent state.
The G7, consisting of the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy, denounced these developments and urged Israel to reverse its decisions.
“We reaffirm our commitment to lasting and sustainable peace … on the basis of the two-state solution,” the statement said.
Emphasizing their commitment to achieving lasting peace based on a two-state solution, the ministers stressed the importance of economic stability in the West Bank, calling on Israel to release all withheld tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority for the sake of regional security.
