rki.news
Sources Anadolu Agency
LONDON, Aug. 21, 2025– The United Kingdom on Thursday summoned Israel’s ambassador to protest against the approval of the contentious E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank.
The Foreign Office said Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely was called in after Israel’s Higher Planning Committee authorized construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem.
A spokesperson stressed that Britain, alongside 21 international partners, “condemns this decision in the strongest possible terms.”
“If implemented, these settlement plans would constitute a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining prospects for a negotiated two-state solution,” the statement added.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has already approved the construction of 3,401 settler housing units in Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, as well as 3,515 additional units in surrounding areas. Analysts say the project is designed to split the West Bank into northern and southern sections while isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of Palestinian territories.
The UK’s diplomatic move comes amid growing international alarm over Israel’s settlement expansion, which is widely viewed as a major obstacle to peace and a lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
