The Foreign Office has summoned Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely over Tel Aviv’s approval of a major settlement in Palestine’s West Bank.
The move follows Israel’s decision to go ahead with the E1 settlement east of Jerusalem, which would effectively cut the West Bank in two.
In a joint statement on Thursday, foreign ministers from the UK, EU and 20 other countries called on Tel Aviv to reverse the decision, saying it would bring “no benefits to the Israeli people” and “risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability”.
They added: “The Government of Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan going any further. We encourage them to urgently retract this plan.”
The E1 settlement has been under consideration by Israel for at least two decades, but has previously been prevented by pressure from the US.
Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has been sanctioned by the UK, said the decision “buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no-one to recognise”.
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