Bahrain welcomes statement by European countries and Canada on restrictions on trade in goods with illegal Israeli settlements

Manama, September 10 (KUNA) -- The Kingdom of Bahrain welcomed on Thursday the joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of several European countries and Canada regarding the implementation of national and European restrictions on trade in goods with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016).

In a statement, the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that settlement expansion undermines efforts aimed at achieving a two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. It stressed the importance of proceeding with the implementation of the peace plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the conflict in Gaza, advance recovery and reconstruction efforts there, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and thereby ensure security and stability in the Strip, while supporting efforts to establish a just and sustainable peace for all peoples of the region and to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the two-state solution.

The foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom announced in a joint statement on Tuesday that their countries intend to impose trade restrictions and bans on goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

This prominent collective move was driven by the significant escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion, which these countries view as directly undermining the prospects of achieving a two-state solution. (End) KH NA / MMJ