AN SNP MEP has condemned the Israeli government, after a report on the expansion of illegal settlements on the West Bank found they were still being built, despite Israel’s declaration of a freeze.
Alyn Smith’s comments came after Peace Now – an Israeli peace advocacy group – issued the Settlement Watch Report, which found that since 2009, when Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister, Israel has built housing units for at least 40,000 new settlers in the West Bank.
Smith, a member of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee and long-time campaigner for a two-state solution, issued a statement condemning the Israeli government’s actions and reiterating the need for a complete halt on the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories.
He said: “I’ve met with Peace Now activists many times, most recently last year in Tel Aviv, and I value their work and their commitment to ending the occupation.
“This report constitutes an important evidence of the expanding settlements in the occupied territories, which are the main obstacle to a long-overdue two-state solution.
“Indeed, actions of this Israeli government have the potential to permanently corrupt the process of political negotiation.”
Smith said the group had found that last year alone, the construction of 1,800 new housing units began in the settlements, with 79 per cent in isolated areas that will probably require evacuation when a permanent status deal is agreed.
A government committed to a future agreement would cease investment in disputed territories until their status was confirmed, he said, but what he found more worrying was the way in which the new settlements were being established.
“Last year, three illegal outposts were retroactively legalised to give them settlement status,” he said.
“The government’s message to the settlers is that there is no need for planning and prior approval since the construction will eventually be approved retroactively.
“Outposts are carefully planned and strategically positioned, often on hilltops, to allow for future development and eventual connection to road network and infrastructure.
“The scope and scale of fortifications is truly shocking. In 2015, an estimated 32 housing units were built on private Palestinian land, almost all of them in illegal outposts.”
Smith said the current situation was “unsustainable”.
“The actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against Palestinians not only violate their human rights but also harm Israel economically and politically,” he added.
“Currently, there are an estimated 547,000 settlers in the West Bank. That is a fact and any attempts to distort the facts cannot mask the reality that Israeli settlements expansion, forced evictions and land confiscations are against international law.
“Settlements expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem must be universally condemned and appropriate action taken.
“So far, Israel refuses to accept the world’s calls to respect international law and continues to annex Palestinian territory, persists in demolishing Palestinians’ homes and populating Palestine with Israeli citizens.
“There is no doubt, we are witnessing a systematic confiscation of the occupied territories, and the question is – what we are going to do about it?”
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