Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide urged Thursday the Israeli government to reverse the decision taken recently to seize over 12.7 square kilometers of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, and rejected the "long-held policy of dispossession, land confiscation and establishing illegal settlements."
In a statement, the minister stressed that "Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, and they pose a significant threat to peace and security in the region."
Last week, the Israeli Cabinet approved a proposal by far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to legalize settlement outposts in the West Bank and impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA). The measure also seeks to build 6,016 housing units for Israeli citizens, representing the biggest land grab since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
