UPDATE - UK Minister For Middle East Urges Israel To Stop West Bank Settlement Construction

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2018) UK Minister for middle East Alistair Burt on Thursday condemned Israel's continued construction of settlements across the West Bank, calling on Israeli authorities to stop this activity.

Media reported on Wednesday that Israel's Civil Administration approved the construction of some 1,000 housing units in the West Bank, thus continuing policies that, according to Burt, were "rightly condemned internationally."

"I call on Israel to halt such counterproductive action, and for all parties to commit to further efforts to de-escalate current tensions and create the right environment for a just and lasting peace," Burt said in a statement.

The UK minister stressed that construction of Israeli settlements was illegal under international law and was one of the obstacles to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The European Union also condemned Israel's plans on construction of new housing units in the West Bank settlements.

"Within the past two weeks the Israeli authorities have advanced plans and tenders for over two thousand settlement units in the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

If implemented, these plans would further jeopardise the prospect of a contiguous and viable future Palestinian state. As reflected in successive Foreign Affairs Council conclusions, the EU is strongly opposed to Israel's settlement policy which is illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace," a spokesperson for EU External Action Service said.

For decades, Israel has been in conflict with the Palestinians, who have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.

In December 2016, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution, expressing concern over Israel's continuing settlement activities, which "imperiled the viability of the two-state solution based on the 1967 lines."

In its annual report in March, Israeli NGO Peace said that the number of Israeli settlements being constructed on the territories of the West Bank, excluding Jerusalem, grew by 17 percent in comparison to the yearly average of the past years.