Palestinian presidency welcomes joint statement by 12 nations backing two-state solution, rejecting settlements

The Palestinian presidency on Tuesday welcomed the joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden, which called for protecting the two-state solution and rejected Israeli settlement expansion, annexation, and the forced displacement of the Palestinian people, as well as banning trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The presidency praised the signatory countries’ intention to impose national restrictions on trade with settlements and their support for similar measures at the European level, describing this as a practical step toward holding the settlement system accountable and refusing to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the occupation.

It stressed that issuing tenders for the so-called “E1” settlement plan, along with ongoing settlement expansion, increasing settler attacks, and the transfer of more powers in the occupied West Bank, constitute violations of international law, threaten the territorial integrity of Palestine, and undermine the possibility of establishing an independent Palestinian state.

The presidency called on the signatory countries, the European Union, and the international community to turn their positions into binding measures, including banning dealings and trade with settlements, imposing sanctions on extremist settlers and their supporters, and holding the Israeli government accountable for its violations.

The State of Palestine reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace based on international law and United Nations resolutions, ensuring an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in security and peace alongside Israel.