Israel's expansion plans in West Bank face global backlash

TEL AVIV

Israel's announcement to purportedly legalize five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and the issuance of tenders for thousands of illegal housing units in the area face global condemnations.

In a post published on his official X account on June 29, U.N. Mideast envoy Tor Wennesland denounced the measure as “deeply concerning.”

The European Union also strongly condemned the decision by the extremist Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the legalization of five settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank.

Moreover, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer criticized Israel's policy of settlements expansion in Palestinian territories as a serious breach of international law.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan also condemned the legitimization of Israeli settlement outposts and the approval of new housing units in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian Hamas official said in Beirut that negotiations for an agreement with Israel on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had not made any progress.

A plan presented last month by U.S. President Joe Biden, which he said was proposed by Israel, included a six-week truce accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Lebanon, confirmed that the Islamist movement had received the latest proposal on June 24, but that it included "nothing new."

"We can say that there is no real progress in the negotiations to stop the [Israeli] aggression so far," he said at a press conference.

Heavy battles and bombardment hit Gaza City's Shujaiya district for a fourth day, months after the Israeli army declared Hamas's command structure dismantled in the northern area.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the devastated neighbourhood, where the army said it has fought Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants both "above and below ground" in tunnels.