The British and French envoys to Israel were summoned by their respective governments on Monday as a statement of opposition to the Israeli decision to extend settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Bloomberg reports.
Israel’s approval of the construction of 3,000 homes came less than a day after the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last week to recognize Palestine as a non-member state. The expansion of the settlements is widely viewed as a prostest by Israel to th UN vote. The Foreign Office in London said Israel’s decision “threatens viability of the two-state solution,” while France asserted that the settlements are “illegal under international law.”