These included the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the U.K., and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas.
The reprimand came as Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy summoned Israel’s ambassador to the U.K. to the Foreign Office.
“Today, the Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said in a separate statement on Thursday.
“Her Excellency Tzipi Hotovely was summoned in response to the Israeli Higher Planning Committee’s decision to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem,” they added.
Israel gave final approval for the settlement project this week — including plans for 3,400 homes in the West Bank. Construction in the area had been stopped for two decades amid international opposition.
The Palestinian Authority has already condemned the decision, arguing it would “destroy” hopes for a two-state solution to the conflict.