Countries condemn Israel's settlement plan in occupied West Bank

Israel gave final approval Wednesday for an illegal in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state.

Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

On Thursday, 21 countries including the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan condemned the plan, saying it renders a future two-state solution for Palestinians impossible.

In a joint statement, the countries called Israel's construction plans a violation of international law.

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, and Italy also signed the statement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, cast the approval as a rebuke to Western countries that announced their plans to recognise a Palestinian state in recent weeks.

“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said on Wednesday. “Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem, and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state.

More than 700,000 Israelis settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.