Israel must reverse largest land grab since 1993, Norway says

In a statement published on X, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has called on Israel to reverse the illegal land seizure of 12.7 square kilometres of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli government recently “legalised” five settlement outposts and declared them to be “state lands”,  in violation of international law.

The land grab signals the largest such illegal confiscation since the 1993 Oslo Accords and will result in the construction of about 6,000 housing units.

"Israel’s long-held policy of dispossession, land confiscation and establishing illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, undermines our collective efforts to realise a two-state solution and a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the statement by Norway’s foreign ministry reads.

The European Union condemned the move in a statement late on Wednesday.

Statement by Foreign Minister @EspenBarthEide on Israeli settlements https://t.co/BqJI0btcTt pic.twitter.com/v0BSEqZAdP

— Norway MFA (@NorwayMFA) July 4, 2024