ATHENS

Finland on Friday rejected the Israeli approval for 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"We reject the Israeli government's approval of 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. Settlements are illegal under international law," Foreign Minister Eline Valtonen said on X.

"Creating deliberate obstacles to the two-state solution is unacceptable and runs counter to international efforts to advance peace."

Israel's Defense Ministry has confirmed that the government approved the construction of 22 new settlements in the West Bank.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the WestBank and East Jerusalem.