December 4, 2012
Israel has accused its closest ally, the United States, of endorsing a concerted European backlash against its plans to expand settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Five European countries, including Britain, have registered formal protests with Israeli ambassadors over last week’s decision by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to build 3,000 settlers’ homes and develop an area of the West Bank that could render a Palestinian state unviable.
Along with Australia and Brazil, they were joined by Egypt, threatening to destabilise its fragile regional relations.
The Egyptian foreign minister said it had registered a “strong protest” with Israel’s Cairo ambassador over the proposals.
Despite the mounting international protest however, Mr Netanyahu’s office indicated there would be no backing down over its settlement plans.
An official in Mr Netanyahu’s office told the AFP news agency: “There will be no change in the decision that has been made.”
No comments:
Post a Comment