STOCKHOLM, August 21, 2026 (WAFA) — Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on Friday that Sweden aligns itself with a joint statement rejecting Israel's settlement plans in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank.

She called on the Israeli government to immediately abandon its E1 plans and halt all settlement activities, stressing that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law and that settlement expansion undermines prospects for a two-state solution.

The position follows a joint statement issued by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway, which called on Israel to withdraw its E1 plans and end settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

M.N