UK Summons Israeli Ambassador, Protests On Settlement Expansion In The Palestinian West Bank

JAKARTA - Britain summoned Israel's ambassador to London on Thursday following Israel's approval of a settlement plan that will cross the territories Palestinians are fighting for for their country.

Britain, along with other European countries, denounced the plan as a "discrete" violation of international law that would undermine the idea of a two-state solution.

Previously, Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh strongly criticized and rejected the Israeli occupation authority's approval to build 3,400 new colonial settlement units in the E1 region.

Abu Rudeineh said the plan violated international law and internationally legal resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which confirms all illegal settlements, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Israel's new settlement plan is called a dangerous escalation that will completely separate the northern West Bank from the south.

Abu Rudeineh considers the Israeli occupation government to be fully responsible for the impact of these dangerous and aggressive policies, warning it could trigger conflict across the region.

A large construction project that will build about 3,400 housing units in the controversial E1 area of the West Bank, between Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, received final approval on Wednesday.

Announced last week by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the controversial plan was officially approved by the Civil Administration High Planning Committee, department at the Ministry of Defense.

Smotrich, who also holds the position of junior minister at the Ministry of Defense who gave him broad authority in settlement development, called the decision "historic."

He described the construction plan as a "significant measure that practically eliminates two countries' woes and strengthens the grip of Jews at the heart of the Land of Israel."