Condemnation of new West Bank settlements 'wrong' - Saar

Israel has reacted furiously to a condemnation by 14 countries including Ireland, France and Britain of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said: "Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews.

"The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalise eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing."

On Sunday, Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Fourteen countries, including Ireland, Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, then issued a statement urging Israel to reverse its decision, "as well as the expansion of settlements".

The joint statement condemning the new settlements was signed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee.

Such unilateral actions, they said, "violate international law", and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in force since 10 October.

They also reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security".

Israel has occupied the West Bank following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.