David Lammy has joined 20 other foreign ministers around the world in condemning Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement on the West Bank, with the Foreign Office summoning the Israeli ambassador to communicate the government’s displeasure.
The foreign secretary co-signed a joint statement on Thursday criticising the so-called E1 plan, a 3,400-home settlement that critics say would divide the West Bank in half.
Officials then summoned Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Office in a rare public rebuke for the Israeli ambassador. The actions marked a further intensification of recent international criticism for Israel over its tactics in Gaza and the West Bank.
The statement, which was signed by 21 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada and France, said: “The decision by the Israeli higher planning committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law. We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.”
In a separate statement, the Foreign Office confirmed it had summoned Hotovely in a display of public criticism. “If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution,” the department said in a statement.
It did not say which minister or official had met Hotovely or what was said in the meeting. The Israeli embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
Israel announced on Wednesday it had approved plans to build the major new block in the West Bank, with the deliberate intention – according to Israel’s far-right finance minster, Bezalel Smotrich – of preventing the creation of a Palestinian state.
Smotrich on Wednesday called the decision to approve the settlement a “significant step that practically erases the two-state delusion and consolidates the Jewish people’s hold on the heart of the land of Israel”.
The proposals would extend the Jewish settlement of Ma’ale Adumim towards Jerusalem, further separating occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank, and dividing the north and south of the territory.
The statement by the 21 foreign ministers said: “Minister Smotrich says this plan will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem. This brings no benefits to the Israeli people. Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.”
British officials say Israel’s renewed expansionism in the West Bank has played a critical role in pushing them into a decision to recognise Palestine as an independent state. Keir Starmer said last month he would issue formal recognition before next month’s UN general assembly, unless Israel committed to a ceasefire and a two-state solution.
The international community has also expressed outrage over Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, with the UN assistant secretary general, Miroslav Jenča, warning it would cause “forced displacement, killings and destruction”.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed them to accelerate the planned assault on Gaza City, the prospect of which has already prompted thousands of Palestinians to flee.
On Thursday the UK was one of 27 countries to sign a separate statement demanding that international journalists be given access to Gaza to allow them to cover the “unfolding humanitarian catastrophe” in the war zone.
The statement from the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), an international advocacy group that the UK helped to create, said: “We … urge Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access and afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza.”
