G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Situation in the West Bank (12 July 2024)

The G7 joins the UN and the European Union in condemning the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich that five outposts are to be legalised in the occupied Palestinian territory. We also reject the decision by the government of Israel to declare over 1,270 hectar of land in the occupied Palestinian territory as ‘state lands’- the largest confiscation of land since the Oslo Accords - and the announcement to expand existing settlements in the occupied Westbank by 6,016 new housing units . This is a flagrant violation of international law.

As G7, we reaffirm our commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, on the basis of the two-State solution. We have therefore consistently expressed our opposition against illegal settlements and, as in previous cases, we urge the Government of Israel to reverse this decision.

In this context, we take note of the latest transfers of parts of the clearances revenues to the Palestinian Authority, but we also urge Israel to release all withheld clearance revenues in accordance with the Paris Protocols and to take the necessary measures to ensure that correspondent banking services between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain in place while respecting the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).