Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Japanese Government expressed “deep concern and profound regret” over an Israeli minister’s recent announcement that over 800 hectares of land in the Jordan Valley were declared as “state lands.”

This position reflects the long-standing policy of Japan that accused Israel’s settlement activities of being “in violation of international law and undermining the viability of a two-state solution.”

“The Government of Japan strongly urges the Government of Israel to retract the declaration and fully freeze its settlement activities, and once again calls for the need to refrain from actions that escalate tensions, while the Gaza Strip is in the critical humanitarian situation and violence and clash are occurring in the West Bank,” an official statement by the Foreign Ministry said.