Israel: Approval of new illegal West Bank settlement illustrates flagrant disregard for international law

Following the Israeli government’s approval of a first new settlement in the occupied West Bank for more than 20 years, Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“Israel’s approval of a new illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank, the first in over 20 years, is deeply alarming and cannot be justified by a need to house residents of a previously dismantled settlement.

“All settlement activity – whether or not it is considered legal under Israeli law – constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and, according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, constitutes a war crime.

“Israel is under an obligation to dismantle all its settlements and relocate its citizens outside the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Israel says the proposed new settlement will house families evicted from the outpost of Amona, which was cleared last month after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled it had been built illegally on private Palestinian land.