Japan condemned Israel’s plan to build thousands of new colonial settler units in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem.

Japan decried the Israeli occupation authorities’ recent decision to publish tenders for the construction of some 1,300 colonial settler units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in addition to their approved plan for the construction of some 3,000 units in the colonial settlements across the West Bank.

“The Government of Japan deeply deplores the continued settlement activities by the Government of Israel despite repeated calls for freezing such activities from Japan and the international community,” Japan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement, while reiterating that “The settlement activities are in violation of international law and undermine the viability of a "two-state solution".”

It urged Israel, the occupying Power, to rescind the settlement construction tenders.

“Underscoring the necessity of confidence-building between Israel and Palestine and the efforts toward easing tensions and stabilizing the region, Japan strongly urges the Government of Israel to rescind the above-mentioned tenders and approval of the construction plans, and to totally freeze its settlement activities,” it added.