Israel is Condemned by 12 European Nations, Japan and Canada for its West Bank Settlement Expansion as UN Warns of Worsening Violence
A coalition of 14 countries, including 12 European nations alongside Canada and Japan, has condemned Israel’s approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, asserting the move violates international law and harms prospects for long-term peace and security in the region. The joint statement was issued by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The decision, approved by the Israeli security cabinet on December 11, 2025, authorizes 19 outposts across the West Bank, including two that were evacuated in the 2005 disengagement plan. According to the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now, this latest approval increases the total number of settlements in the West Bank by nearly 50% during the current government’s tenure, rising from 141 in 2022 to 210.
In their statement, the 14 countries called on Israel to reverse its decision, stating that such unilateral actions “risk fuelling instability” and undermine the internationally-backed two-state solution. They reaffirmed their “unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Two-State solution in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders.”
The approval comes at a time of intensified settlement policy and a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. In May 2025, Israel had announced its intention to establish 22 new settlements, which Peace Now described as the largest expansion in over 30 years.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected the international condemnation, asserting the decision was aimed at addressing security threats faced by Israel.
The United Nations has urged Israel, as the occupying power, to prevent further settler attacks in the West Bank. UN Humanitarian Relief Chief Tom Fletcher warned that “the failure to prevent or punish such attacks is inconsistent with international law,” adding that “impunity cannot prevail” and “perpetrators must be held accountable.”
