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Britain and France are considering recalling their ambassadors to Israel over its plans to build new settler homes in a highly controversial area of the West Bank, AFP reports citing Haaretz newspaper. Reports of a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build 3,000 homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank emerged on Friday when an official source confirmed that it was in retaliation for the Palestinians winning the rank of a UN non-member state a day earlier. The decision to build in a key area east of Jerusalem, called E1, sparked a storm of diplomatic protest from Washington and Brussels as well as from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who on Sunday warned it would deal an "almost fatal blow" to the prospects of resolving the conflict. And on Monday, Haaretz reported that Britain and France were considering recalling their ambassadors for consultations over the plans to build in E1, which the newspaper said they considered a "red line." "This time it won’t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel," a senior European diplomat told the paper, which also quoted another diplomat as saying: "London is furious about the E1 decision." Quoting diplomatic sources, the paper said Britain and France were coordinating their moves and had "discussed the extraordinary step of recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv for consultations" and had informed Washington accordingly. A final decision would be taken by the countries' foreign ministers on Monday, it said. There was no immediate confirmation of the report from either embassy. E1 is a highly contentious area of the West Bank that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement. Palestinians bitterly oppose the E1 project, as it would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and sever it from Jerusalem, and make the creation of a viable Palestinian state even more problematic.
Britain and France are considering recalling their ambassadors to Israel over its plans to build new settler homes in a highly controversial area of the West Bank, AFP reports citing Haaretz newspaper.
Reports of a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build 3,000 homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank emerged on Friday when an official source confirmed that it was in retaliation for the Palestinians winning the rank of a UN non-member state a day earlier.
The decision to build in a key area east of Jerusalem, called E1, sparked a storm of diplomatic protest from Washington and Brussels as well as from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who on Sunday warned it would deal an "almost fatal blow" to the prospects of resolving the conflict.
And on Monday, Haaretz reported that Britain and France were considering recalling their ambassadors for consultations over the plans to build in E1, which the newspaper said they considered a "red line."
"This time it won’t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel," a senior European diplomat told the paper, which also quoted another diplomat as saying: "London is furious about the E1 decision."
Quoting diplomatic sources, the paper said Britain and France were coordinating their moves and had "discussed the extraordinary step of recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv for consultations" and had informed Washington accordingly.
A final decision would be taken by the countries' foreign ministers on Monday, it said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the report from either embassy.
E1 is a highly contentious area of the West Bank that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement.
Palestinians bitterly oppose the E1 project, as it would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and sever it from Jerusalem, and make the creation of a viable Palestinian state even more problematic.
