Jewish settlements in occupied Palestine illegal: Austria reminds Israel

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Austria on Friday reminded Israel once again that Jewish settlements in occupied Palestine are illegal.

“We condemn the approval of additional settlement units in the occupied West Bank and call on Israel to withdraw this unnecessary provocation,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry said on X.

Reiterating that the settlements are illegal, the ministry also emphasized that the settlements are obstacles to any negotiations and the viability of the two-state solution.

The ministry said the United Nations and most of the international community consider settlements in the occupied territories since 1967 to be illegal, warning that they undermine the chances of addressing the conflict according to the two-state solution.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 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.