France condemns Israel's decision to expand settlements in occupied West Bank

By Nur Asena Erturk

France on Friday condemned Israel's approval of additional settlement units in the occupied West Bank.

Israel approved the construction of 3,500 new units in the West Bank settlements, France's Foreign Ministry recalled in a statement.

“France calls on the Israeli government to go back on this unacceptable, illegal, and irresponsible decision immediately, in light of the already extremely high tensions in the West Bank, and ahead of the sensitive period of holy days,” the ministry stressed.

The statement emphasized that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are in violation of international law, and "must stop."

"France condemns all unilateral steps that undermine the perspective for a two-state solution, which is the only one to meet Israel's right to security and Palestinians' legitimate aspirations," the ministry further said and recalled that it imposed sanctions on violent, extremist Israeli settlers of West Bank.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 30,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza and nearly 73,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.