UK Condemns Israeli Plans to Build New Housing Units in West Bank Settlements

London, MINA – The United Kingdom condemned today’s Israeli government plans to build around 2000 new housing units in its illegal settlements in the occupied territories, WAFA News Agency reported.

British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Andrew Murrison, said in a statement that the “UK condemns the Israeli government’s advancement of yet more plans for over 1,900 housing units across the West Bank” and called on Israel “to halt settlement expansion immediately.”

He said, “It is the UK’s longstanding position that settlements are illegal under international law and undermine the viability of the two-state solution.”

According to Palinfo, Israeli settlements are deemed illegal under international law and widely seen as the main obstacle to peace.

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Some 600,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem among around 2.9 million Palestinians.

Late last year, the Trump administration said it would no longer consider Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal.

The move, which was hailed by Netanyahu, angered the Palestinians and the international community.

The European Union, United Nations, and others have stressed, however, that they continue to consider the settlements illegal. (T/R3/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)