Canada calls on Israel to reverse thousands of West Bank settlement approvals
Violence has been on the rise over the past 15 months
The Canadian government has joined a chorus of allies condemning Israel's approval of more than 5,700 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, a move that comes amid surging violence in the region.
In a joint statement with her Australian and U.K. counterparts Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says she is gravely concerned by the move.
"The continued expansion of settlements is an obstacle to peace and negatively impacts efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution," says the statement.
"We call on the government of Israel to reverse these decisions."
On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition government approved more than 5,700 new settlement units in the West Bank.
Much of the international community sees the settlements, built on land captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as illegal and inflammatory.
Their presence is one of the fundamental issues in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The temperature has been on the rise over the past 15 months amid Palestinian street attacks and Israeli settler aggression.
"The cycle of violence in Israel and the West Bank must be broken," said Friday's joint statement.
"We are also deeply troubled by the continued violence and loss of life in Israel and in the West Bank."
The statement says the three countries "unequivocally condemn" the terrorist attack on June 20 in Eli targeting Israeli civilians and the "reprehensible and ongoing settler violence targeting Palestinians."
Earlier this week the U.S. also condemned the new settlements.
Peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza collapsed in 2014.
With files from Reuters
