UK
David Lammy summons Israeli ambassador over settlement plan
The Israeli government green-lit a proposal to build a settlement that would cut the West Bank into two pieces
August 21, 2025 18:59
The Israeli government green-lit a proposal to build a settlement that would cut the West Bank into two pieces
August 21, 2025 18:59Foreign Secretary David Lammy has summoned the Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to put to her in person the UK’s concerns over the green-lighting of 3,400 new Israeli settlements that would cut the West Bank into two pieces.
Opponents such as Israeli settlements watchdog Peace Now have long warned that the move is designed to sabotage any political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been one of the key figures pushing for the new housing units to be built in the West Bank’s E1 area – a highly contested piece of land located between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim – and celebrated the decision for “burying the idea of a Palestinian state”.
The new units would also cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem.
David Lammy posted on X: “The UK condemns the decision by Israel’s Higher Planning Committee today to approve the E1 settlement plan.
“If implemented, it would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution.
“The Israeli government must reverse this decision.”
Peace Now said: "Under the cover of war, Smotrich and his messianic minority are building a settlement doomed for evacuation in any agreement. E1's sole aim is to sabotage a political solution and rush toward a bi-national apartheid state."
E1 has been sought after for development by pro-settlement Israeli politicians for over two decades, but plans were repeatedly halted due to pressure from previous US administrations.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table”, said Smotrich, “not with slogans but with actions.”
The plan has been praised by the mayor of Ma’ale Adumim, Guy Yifrach, who said in a statement that he was “pleased to announce” the approval of new settlements.
The Palestinian Authority denounced the decision, saying it undermined any hope of a two-state solution.
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