UK and France increase pressure on Israel

Britain and France have voiced their concerns over Israeli plans to build 3,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israeli ambassadors in London and Paris were summoned to appear before foreign ministries in both countries as diplomatic pressure continued to grow. In a statement, a British Foreign Office spokesperson said: "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. We have called on the Israeli government to reverse this decision. The Israeli Ambassador to London, Daniel Taub, has been formally summoned to the Foreign Office this morning by the Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt.  The Minister set out the depth of the UK’s concerns." In Paris, ambassador Yossi Gal was called for consultations at the French foreign ministry. The summoning of the two ambassadors comes a day after a strongly-worded warning from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, saying he viewed the plans "with grave concern and disappointment." Some of the construction would take place in a corridor of land east of Jerusalem, called E1 and would cut the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and sever it from Jerusalem. Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Israeli government to cancel its plans.