Key Points
- The foreign ministers of the UK, Australia and Canada have issued a joint statement on West Bank settlements.
- The statement calls on the government of Israel "to reverse these decisions".
- Anthony Albanese said Australia "understood the need for a peaceful resolution".
Australia, Britain and Canada have called on Israel's government to reverse a decision to approve new settlement units in the West Bank, saying they are "deeply concerned" by an ongoing cycle of violence.
This week Israel approved more than 5,700 new settlement units in the West Bank and earlier this month instituted changes to the settlement approval process which facilitate swifter approval of construction. Settlements are considered illegal under international law by many countries.
"The continued expansion of settlements is an obstacle to peace and negatively impacts efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution. We call on the Government of Israel to reverse these decisions," the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia and Canada said in a joint statement.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday said Australia, "understood the need for a peaceful resolution".
"Together with other partners, including the UK and Canada, we understand that the need for a peaceful resolution in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians requires a settlement between the Israeli and Palestinian leadership," he said.
"We also understand that settlements in Palestinian territories make that more difficult. I want to see the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace behind secure borders. And we need to ensure that any action doesn't undermine that but assists that."
Violence escalates in the West Bank
Violence has been surging in the West Bank, including deadly clashes in Jenin, a fatal shooting by Palestinians near a Jewish settlement, retaliating settlers ransacked nearby Palestinian villages and rare use of Israeli air power against militants.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday called for an end to the escalating violence in the West Bank.
Nasser Mashni from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network welcomed the foreign ministers' statement.
"It's very important that the world steps up. What we have seen now is close to three-quarters of a million Israelis who live in what was supposed to be Palestine, rendering the two-state solution dead," Mr Mashni said.
Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said: "It is critical to understand that a Jewish civilian presence in the disputed territories has never been the cause of the conflict. It is a symptom of it.
"This conflict will endure until the Palestinians can come to terms with Israel’s legitimacy and permanence.
"The Israeli government has condemned all settler violence and has long maintained it is ready to resume negotiations to finally end this needless conflict. The ball is in the court of the Palestinians."
