IRELAND AND THIRTEEN other countries have co-signed a statement condemning new Israeli settlements that have been set up in the West Bank. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee signed the statement today, which opposed the Israeli government’s decision to approve of 19 new settlements in the region. 

The signatories include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The statement said that this action is part of a “wider intensification” of the settlement policies Israel is enacting in the West Bank. 

It said that this move not only violates international law but also risks fuelling instability. 

“They risk undermining the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for Gaza amid efforts to progress to phase 2 and harming prospects for long term peace and security across the region,” the statement continues. 

The countries recalled their opposition to the E1 settlement and the introduction of thousands of new Israeli housing units in the West Bank. 

They are calling on the Israeli government to reverse this decision and the expansion of settlements. 

“We reaffirm our 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,” Ireland and the other countries said.  

An Israeli military vehicle patrols the perimeter of the abandoned Jewish settlement of Sa'anur, south of Jenin in the West Bank, in preparation for the return of Jewish settlers, following the Israeli government's approval of their return. 23 December. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Settlements being expanded

Netanyahu’s government has set about annexing new areas in the occupied West Bank. 

In 2025, settlement expansions have reached their highest level since 2017, according to the United Nations. 

The process of settlement expansion typically involves an initial outpost, which is not government sanctioned, then being built out into a new approved settlement. 

Roughly 10% of Israel’s population lives in these types of settlements. 

Most of the new settlements will be located close to Palestinian villages including Duma, Jalud, Qusra and al-Lubban Asharqiya, and in other areas close by densely populated Palestinian towns in the north-western part of the West Bank. 

Major settlements are often connected by roads that only Israelis are permitted to use, and many Palestinians have been pushed out or forcibly displaced from their homes as part of settlement expansion. 

Palestinians face drawn out security checks and checkpoints which make their day-to-day business difficult to carry out, including reaching schools and accessing farmlands. 

Israeli settlements are built on Palestinian land and they can range from small communities to very large, dense areas with high rise apartment buildings.

These settlements are going to be a key focal point as international bodies, and western and Arab state allies are working to move the Gaza ceasefire towards its second phase. 

The territory that Israel controls in the West Bank through settlements is part of the land that Palestinians want to be part of a future state alongside Gaza.