Israel must stop building settlements

‘I am concerned about the fact that Israel is again speeding up its building of settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. The settlement policy is becoming an ever greater obstacle to a two-state solution,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende.  

On Wednesday evening, tenders were published for the construction of 1466 new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This means that Israel is further speeding up construction in the settlements. The pace of construction has already increased steeply from last summer, during the time when peace negotiations with the Palestinians were taking place. 

Both the UN and the International Court of Justice in The Hague have declared that the areas that Israel acquired in the 1967 war are occupied territory and that in moving its own citizens on to occupied territory, Israel is violating international law. 

‘Given the current difficult situation between Israel and the Palestinians, it is crucial that all parties show restraint,’ said Mr Brende.