The United Kingdom, Ireland and Egypt condemned Israel’s decision Sunday to advance plans for 792 settlers homes in the West Bank.“The UK is seriously concerned by the Government of Israel’s decision to approve the construction of… new settlement units across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including areas deep within the West Bank which could threaten future peace negotiations,” the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said.“Settlements are illegal under international law and risk undermining the physical viability of the two-state solution. We call for the construction of these in east Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank to cease immediately,” the spokesperson addedIreland also took issue with Israel’s plan to build a new Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, called Givat Hamatos, located in a strategic location near the West Bank Palestinian city of Bethlehem.The country’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the “expansion of settlements in this strategically sensitive area between Jerusalem and Bethlehem will undermine the viability and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state and the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution in line with internationally agreed parameters.”He called on Israel to “halt all settlement activity” and or any steps that prevent “meaningful negotiations – between the parties.”Egypt similarly condemned Israel’s actions.On Sunday, the European Union and the Palestinian Authority also issued statements.The number of settlements projects the Higher Planning Council advanced was low compared to previous meetings during the last four years of the Trump administration.Last year 12,159 such plans were advanced, according to the left-wing group Peace Now and in 2019 8,457 such plans were promoted.But the international community has issued notes of condemnation because the plans were advanced just three days before US President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office on January 20.Although he is well versed on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden is not expected to immediately prioritize jump-starting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which have been frozen for six years.Still, the international community hopes Biden’s entry into the White House could provide a new window of opportunity to revive a stagnant peace process.Last week the foreign ministers from Germany, France, Egypt and Jordan met in Cairo to discuss ways to restart the peace process.Among the settlement projects which has concerned the international community is the possibility that Israel’s government could issue a declaration of intent to legalize 46 West Bank outposts.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he hoped that he could resolve the matter within days.But as of Monday night, there had been no movement on the issue. The Yesha Council and the Young Settlements Forum continued its protest activities, including holding a small rally outside the home of Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, who is also the defense minister and the head of the Blue and White Party.Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan called on Netanyahu and Gantz to bring the issue before the government. “This theater of the absurd cannot continue,” he said.Separately, the Jerusalem District Court on Friday froze the Givat Hamatos project. It issued a temporary injunction in response to a petition by left-wing NGO Ir Amim, which had claimed that the housing allocation of the initial 1,257 favored Jewish Israelis and was discriminatory to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. The state, in a response filed Sunday, denied the claim and argued that it was important for the injunction to be lifted so the work could be advanced.
