LOC09:41
06:41 GMT
TOKYO, Sept 3 (KUNA) -- Japan on Wednesday expressed regret over Israel's recent approval for the expropriation of the huge land in the West Bank, urging the Israeli government to refrain from implementing the plan for the sake of the progress of the peace process.
"This announcement by the Israeli government clearly contradicts the ongoing efforts by the international community toward ceasefire agreement over Gaza as well as realizing a two-state solution," Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Kuni Sato said in a statement.
"Japan strongly calls upon Israel to refrain from any unilateral act that changes the current status of East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank," Sato said. Settlement activities are a violation of international law, and Japan has repeatedly called upon Israel to fully freeze settlement activities, she added.
On Sunday, the Israeli government announced that it would expropriate nearly 4 square kilometers of land in the southern part of the West Bank, which could be used to build homes for Jewish settlers. Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of the territories in the pre-1967 borders. (end)
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