Eduardo González
The Spanish government has condemned Israel’s decision to approve 19 new settlements in the West Bank and expressed its “deep concern” about the escalating violence by settlers against the Palestinian population in this territory.
“Spain condemns the decision of the Israeli government to approve 19 new settlements in the West Bank,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement on Monday, December 22. This decision, it continued, “violates international law,” and therefore the government “demands its revocation in the strongest possible terms.”
“The Spanish government reiterates its condemnation of the expansion of settlements, which are illegal under international law, and of any initiative to impede the implementation of the two-state solution, the only path to lasting peace in the region,” the government of Pedro Sánchez insisted.
“Spain expresses its deep concern about the extremely serious situation in the West Bank,” it stated. “The escalating violence by settlers against the Palestinian population and their livelihoods, facilitated by impunity, military operations, and the expansionist policies of the Israeli government, are clear obstacles to peace, security, and prosperity,” he concluded.
The Israeli Cabinet approved the construction of 19 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank this past Sunday, following a proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz. With this decision, the total number of settlements created in the last three years by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has risen to 69 (from 141 in 2022 to 210 currently). Aside from East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements in the West Bank, alongside three million Palestinians.
The objective of this proposal, according to the office of Smotrich, a settler and representative of the far-right religious nationalist movement, is “to block the creation of a terrorist Palestinian state (…), by developing, building, and populating the land of our ancestral heritage.”
These 19 settlements, according to Smotrich’s office, are located in areas of “high strategic value.” Among them are Ganim and Kadim, which were dismantled in 2005 as part of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and will be reestablished in the northern West Bank.
The decision coincides with US pressure on Israel and Hamas to allow progress on the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza brokered by Washington, which came into effect on October 10.