Palestinian territory risks being erased from the map as Israel acts with growing “impunity”, former Irish president Mary Robinson and former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark have warned.
Mrs Robinson and Ms Clark, members of the Elders group of global leaders established by Nelson Mandela, issued the stark assessment after travelling through Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan and Lebanon.
In a joint statement, they accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of attempting “to make Palestine disappear physically, economically, culturally and politically.”
Addressing journalists in Jerusalem, the former leaders urged the international community to take stronger action against Israeli “impunity” in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Palestinians envision as the capital of a future sovereign state.
Mrs Robinson said she felt “ashamed” by the European Union’s failure to adopt a tougher position. She called on Brussels to suspend the trade provisions of its association agreement with Israel and prohibit commerce involving products from Israeli settlements.
The two Elders said conditions in the West Bank had deteriorated dramatically since their previous mission in 2023. Without action to halt continued settlement growth, they warned, the world would witness “Palestine disappearing before our eyes.”
Mr Netanyahu’s government has authorised the creation of 102 settlements in the West Bank since taking office, according to the Israeli anti-settlement organisation Peace Now.
The United Nations has documented a sharp increase in settler violence since the Gaza war began in 2023, as some Israeli ministers continue to advocate annexing all or part of the occupied West Bank.
More than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, excluding east Jerusalem, alongside roughly three million Palestinians. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967.
Under international law, all Israeli settlements are illegal.
During the trip, Mrs Robinson and Ms Clark also held talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“We disagreed on a number of points,” Mrs Robinson said.
