UK, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand Condemn Israel’s West Bank Settlements

A joint statement issued by the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand condemned Israel for policies in the West Bank and the rise in settler violence, calling settlements “illegal” and saying “international law is clear.”

The statement warned that “construction projects in the E1 area would be no exception,” adding that the project would “divide the West Bank in two,” and it said businesses could face “legal and reputational consequences” if they joined the E1 project that seeks to add approximately 3,400 housing units to settlements.

Al-Jazeera Net

Euronews reported that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has triggered an escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including a spike in attacks carried out by Palestinian militants.

In northern Israel, Euronews said a Palestinian killed two Israelis in a car-ramming and stabbing attack in Beit She'an on Friday, where the attacker plowed into pedestrians and then fatally stabbed another victim.

Euronews added that Israeli forces gathered near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, identified by Defense Minister Israel Katz as the assailant's hometown, and Katz ordered troops to act “with force and immediately” against what he called a terrorist infrastructure in the town.

More than 1,000 Jews from the diaspora called on President Isaac Herzog to intervene against violence carried out by supporters of the pro-settlement movement in the West Bank, warning it threatens Israel’s security.

In an open letter published Thursday, the signatories wrote, “Mr. President, the acts of terrorism, deaths, and destruction carried out by Israeli Jewish extremists against innocent Palestinians in the West Bank are an abomination,” and they added that the violence poses a “strategic threat to Israel’s future.”

El Watan

Euronews said Herzog was shocked by a “horrific series of murders” and promised that Israel would strengthen security along what he described as a difficult border area.

Ouest-France reported that President Isaac Herzog strongly condemned a settler attack on X, saying the “violence” “contrasts sharply with the values of the State of Israel.”

Ouest-France also quoted B’Tselem saying, “the rampaging attacks carried out by settlers across the West Bank constitute state violence,” and it described the Israeli army as conducting “investigations to apprehend the suspects.”

The joint statement from the Western powers called on the Israeli government to “end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers” in the West Bank and to provide accountability for settler violence.

“Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was shocked by this 'horrific series of murders' and promised that Israel would strengthen security along what he described as a difficult border area”

Euronews

It also urged “investigate allegations against Israeli forces, respect the Hashemite custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites and the historic status quo arrangements, and lift financial restrictions on the PA and the Palestinian economy.”

Tenoua published an open letter initiated by The London Initiative, saying it was addressed to President Isaac Herzog and asking him to act to stop “the acts of violence committed with impunity by Jewish Israeli extremist terrorists against Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Tenoua said the letter’s translation includes a passage warning that “the violence ravaging today’s West Bank is not merely tolerated by the government but is, in fact, its policy,” and it urged Herzog to “use your office to press the government to end the abomination that is Jewish extremist terrorism.”

In the same broader context of West Bank violence, The Times of Israël reported that the Israeli military took an unprecedented step this week by redeploying soldiers stationed in Lebanon to the West Bank, after the army’s chief of staff and the commander of Central Command voiced concerns about the situation aggravating an acute manpower shortage.