UK condemns Israel settlement plans

British Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hugh Robertson has once again raised concerns over the Israeli regime’s plan to build more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Hugh Robertson said on Tuesday, following a tour of the Middle East, that the UK government considers as illegal Tel Aviv’s decision to press ahead with plans to expand settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the occupied West Bank.

“Britain has consistently condemned settlement announcements. The most recent announcement of 1889 illegal settlement units is deeply concerning,” Robertson stated.

The UK official also expressed concerns about the “deteriorating situation on the ground” which he has seen during his visit to the occupied Palestinian territories.

On November 3, Israel published tenders for the construction of more than 1,800 new illegal settler units in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds.

The Israeli regime has built more than 120 settlements in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds since its occupation of the lands in 1967. Tel Aviv continues with expanding the settlement construction.

Much of the international community and the United Nations regard the Israeli settlements as illegal because the Palestinian territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967 and are thus subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.