James Cleverly, Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
Israel’s decision to advance the construction of 1,257 settlement buildings in the Givat HaMatos area of the occupied West Bank, would violate international law, and risks causing serious damage to the prospects for a viable Palestinian State.
We condemn this decision, which is incompatible with Israel’s declared goal of peace, and call for both the tender process and the advancement of other settlements in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank to be suspended immediately.
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