UK angered by Israeli building plan

Ambassador Daniel Taub was informed of “the depth of the UK’s concerns” about the scheme to build 3,000 new homes in an area known as the E1 block in a meeting with Alistair Burt, the Minister for the Middle East.

France, Sweden and Spain also took similar action.

Following the meeting with the Israeli Ambassador, the Foreign Office refused to rule out further moves against Israel.

“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,” a spokesman said.

The Foreign Office again urged the Israelis to drop the settlement plan announced by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“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.

Earlier, officials described Israeli Press reports that Britain – together with France – was planning to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv as “speculation”.

However, a spokesman made clear that there would be a strong response if the plan went ahead.

“We have called on the Israeli government to reconsider. We have told the Israeli government that if they go ahead with their decision there will be a strong reaction,” the spokesman said.

The announcement by Mr Netanyahu was widely seen as a reaction to last week’s vote at the United Nations General Assembly recognising the Palestinians as a “non-member observer state”.

Foreign Secretary William Hague joined US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in condemning the plan, describing it as “illegal” and saying it cast doubts on Israel’s commitment to achieving peace.

Mr Hague had faced strong criticism at home for refusing to 
back the Palestinians’ bid for enhanced recognition at the UN, with Britain instead choosing to abstain.

He argued that it would simply antagonise the Israelis, making the prospects of achieving progress in the peace process even more remote.

Asked at a regular media briefing in Westminster whether the UK was considering withdrawing its ambassador, Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman said: “We are not proposing to do that. We are not proposing to do anything further at this stage.

“We are continuing to have conversations with the Israeli government and others. We are consulting with international partners.

“Clearly, we are concerned about the situation. We think that what is being proposed could have a negative impact on the chances of talks and that is concerning to us, but we are not setting out any further action at this stage.”

Following his talks with the ambassador, Mr Burt said: “I set out the depth of the UK’s concern about these decisions and I called on the Israeli government to reverse them. The settlements plan in particular has the potential to alter the situation on the ground on a scale that threatens the viability of a two state solution.

“I also made clear that the strength of our reaction stems from our disappointment that the Israeli government has not heeded the calls that we and others had made for Israel to avoid reacting to the UN General Assembly resolution in a way that undermines the Palestinian Authority or a return to talks.”

Although Europe considers all Israeli settlement construction illegal, the summoning of ambassadors was an unusually strong expression of displeasure.