WILL THIS BE THE EXCUSE OBAMA USES TO NO LONGER SUPPORT ISRAEL? TIME WILL TELL!
Spain and Denmark join UK, France and Sweden in calling in ambassadors for ‘harsh’ rebuke; PA official praises Europe
Several European capitals on Monday summoned Israeli ambassadors to sharply express unhappiness over Israel’s plans to significantly expand settlement construction, as anger over the move worldwide continued to simmer.
In Washington, the White House called on Israel to reconsider its plans to develop the controversial E1 tract of land east of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
Yet officials in Jerusalem said they would not back down from the plan, which is seen as a punitive measure against the Palestinians for going to the United Nations to be upgraded to a nonmember observer state.
The foreign ministries of France, Britain, Spain, Denmark and Sweden on Monday summoned and sharply rebuked the Israeli ambassadors to their countries. An Israeli official quoted by Israel Radio said the tone of the rebukes was “harsh and very unpleasant.”
A British Foreign Office spokesman issued a severely worded condemnation of the Israeli government decision on Friday to approve 3,000 housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including in the controversial E1 corridor that connects Jerusalem to Ma’aleh Adumim, one of Israel’s largest settlements, and called on Israel to reverse the initiative.
“We deplore the recent Israeli government decision to build 3,000 new housing units and unfreeze development in the E1 block. This threatens the viability of the two-state solution,” the spokesman said. “Any decision about any other measures the UK might take will depend on the outcome of our discussions with the Israeli government and with international partners including the US and European Union.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the administration was calling on Israel to reconsider the plan and urged restraint.
The US State Department said it “opposes all unilateral actions, including West Bank settlement activity and housing construction in East Jerusalem.” In a statement by Mark C. Toner, Washington stated the policy “includes building in the E1 area as this area is particularly sensitive and construction there would be especially damaging to efforts to achieve a two-state solution.”
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and Russia joined the chorus of condemnations, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeting a steady stream of denunciations.
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