Australia summons Israeli ambassador over settlement decision

Australia has joined the fray of Israel critiques and summoned Israeli ambassador in a sign of protest against Tel Aviv’s new decision for more settlement construction in the Palestinian occupied territories.

The move was a reaction to Israel’s controversial plan of constructing 3,000 more settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the West Bank, including in the controversial E1 area.

“Australia has long opposed all settlement activity,” Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said in a statement on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, a number of European countries, including Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their capitals and slammed the regime’s settlement projects.

Israel’s announced its decision after Palestine won a UN vote over a bid on November 29, which upgraded its stance from observer entity to observer non-member state.

Despite international condemnation of the act, sources close to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would “continue to stand up for its vital interests even in the face of international pressure.”

The sources warned that Tel Aviv would take more serious steps in the event Palestinians continue “more unilateral moves of their own.”

On Friday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Tel Aviv to cancel the plan, which she called “counterproductive.”

The international community regards all the Israeli settlements across the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) as illegal under international law.