We, the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, and the Secretary of State of the United States, are deeply concerned by the announcement by the Government of Israel to advance the construction of almost 10,000 houses in the settlements and their intention to begin a process of legalizing 9 outposts previously considered to be in contravention of Israeli law.

We strongly oppose such unilateral actions, which only increase tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-State solution.

We continue to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. Both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in peace, with the same degree of freedom, security and prosperity. We reaffirm our commitment to help Israelis and Palestinians realize the vision of Israel’s full integration into the Middle East together with a viable sovereign Palestinian state.

We continue to closely follow developments on the ground that undermine the viability of the two-State solution and the stability of the region as a whole.

We, the Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Italy, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom and the Secretary of State of the United States, are deeply concerned by the Israeli government’s announcement that it is advancing close to 10,000 units of settlement and intends to begin a process to normalize nine outposts previously considered illegal under Israeli law.

We strongly oppose these unilateral actions which will only serve to exacerbate Israeli-Palestinian tensions and undermine efforts to achieve a negotiated two-state solution.

We continue to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, which must be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. Both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in peace, with the same measures of freedom, security and prosperity. We reaffirm our commitment to help Israelis and Palestinians realize the vision of a fully integrated Israel in the Middle East living side by side with a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

We continue to closely monitor developments on the ground that impact the viability of the two-state solution and stability in the region as a whole.