AD condemns new wave of Israeli illegal settlements

Alternattiva Demokratika condemned the construction of 3,000 houses in occupied territories by the Israeli government.

AS spokesperson for international affairs, Arnold Cassola, said: "The Netanyahu government decision to build 3000 new settlers' houses in occupied territory is an unacceptable provocation."

He added that AD fully supported foreign minister Francis Zammit Dimech who conveyed the Maltese government and people's disapproval of such decision which is a serious attempt at undermining lasting peace in the region. 

"The politics of two states, two peoples living side by side in peace is the only way forward in the Middle East," Cassola added.

A defiant Israel has rejected a wave of American and European condemnations over plans to build thousands of new homes in east Jerusalem and West Bank settlements, vowing to press forward with the construction in the face of widespread international opposition.

The UK, France, Spain, Denmark and Sweden on Monday summoned Israeli ambassadors in their respective countries to protest Israel's plans to build more settler homes.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would continue to stand up for its interests "even in the face of international pressure, and there will be no change in the decision taken".

The announcement from Netanyahu's office was likely to deepen a rift that has emerged between Israel and some of its closest allies following the UN's recognition of a Palestinian state last week. 

Russia and Germany have also expressed opposition to the building of additional settlements, and the White House issued a statement urging the "Israeli leader to reconsider their unilateral decisions".

The official twitter-account of Russia's ministry of foreign affairs said that, "Israeli construction on Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 is illegal, unrecognised and condemned by Russia and internationally." 

Media reports on Monday also said France and Britain were considering recalling their ambassadors to Israel over the plans. 

The decision to build in a key area east of Jerusalem, called E1, sparked a storm of diplomatic protest from Washington and Brussels as well as from UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who on Sunday warned it would deal an "almost fatal blow" to the prospects of resolving the conflict.

E1 is a highly contentious area of the West Bank that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement.

Palestinians bitterly oppose the project, as it would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two, north to south, and sever it from Jerusalem, and make the creation of a viable Palestinian state even more problematic.