Ashraf AboArafe
On July 11, 2024, the text of the following statement was issued by the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations, namely Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union.
“We, the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, i.e. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, join the United Nations and the European Union in their condemnation of Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich’s announcement of the legalization of five settlement sites in the West Bank. We oppose Likewise, the decision taken by the Israeli government to declare more than 1,270 hectares in the West Bank as “lands belonging to the Israeli state” – this is the largest area of land covered by a similar declaration since the Oslo Accords. We also oppose the Israeli government’s decision to expand the current settlements in the occupied West Bank by 5,295 housing units. New settlements and the establishment of three new settlements. The Israeli government’s settlement program does not comply with international law and is counterproductive to the cause of peace.
We reaffirm our commitment to lasting and sustainable peace under the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and on the basis of the two-state solution, and have therefore consistently expressed our opposition to settlement expansion, and urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision, just as we have done in previous instances.
In addition, maintaining economic stability in the West Bank remains crucial to regional security. In this context, we refer to the recent transfers of parts of clearing revenues to the Palestinian Authority, but we urge Israel to release all clearing revenues withheld under the Paris Protocol, remove or mitigate measures that worsen the economic situation in the West Bank, and take the necessary measures to ensure the continuity of banking services. Correspondence between Israeli and Palestinian banks with appropriate controls.”
G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Situation in the West Bank
We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the EU, join the UN and the European Union in condemning the announcement by the Finance Minister of Israel Smotrich that five outposts are to be legalised in the West Bank. We also reject the decision by the Government of Israel to declare over 1,270 hectares of land in the West Bank as ‘state lands’ – the largest such declaration of state land since the Oslo Accords – and the decision to expand existing settlements in the occupied West Bank by 5,295 new housing units and to establish three new settlements. The Government of Israel’s settlement program is inconsistent with international law, and counterproductive to the cause of peace.
We reaffirm our commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, on the basis of a two-state solution. We have therefore consistently expressed our opposition to the expansion of settlements and, as in previous cases, we urge the Government of Israel to reverse this decision.
Further, maintaining economic stability in the West Bank is critical for regional security. In this context, we take note of the latest transfers of parts of clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, but we urge Israel to release all withheld clearance revenues in accordance with the Paris Protocols, remove or relax measures that exacerbate the economic situation in the West Bank, and to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place with proper controls.
