Middle East Crisis West Bank

Great Britain: Clear violation of international

Israel's settlement plan would violate international law. This is stated by the British Foreign Secretary on X.

"If implemented, it would divide a Palestinian state in two, constitute a clear violation of international law and seriously undermine the two-state solution."

The plan concerns an expansion of the Israeli settlement in the Ma'ale Adumim area. It has been discussed since the early 1990s and means that the occupied West Bank will be divided into two areas.

On Wednesday, it was announced that Israel had given the go-ahead to the settlement plan.

Israel approves plan that "erases" the state of Palestine

Israel has given the go-ahead to a settlement plan that in practice means that the occupied West Bank will be divided into two areas, reports Haaretz.

It concerns an expansion of the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The aim is to connect the settlement with East Jerusalem, also occupied Palestinian territory. This means that contact between Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south will be cut off - something that is seen as a basis for a Palestinian state.

The plan for the area, which is known in Israel as E1, has been discussed since the early 1990s. It has been pushed by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has said that its implementation "burys" the idea of a Palestinian state.

"The Palestinian state is being erased - not with slogans, but with actions," he said last week.

The EU, Britain and the UN have condemned the plan, pointing out that it constitutes a violation of international law.