U.K., France may recall envoys to Israel

[No Elephants]

U.K., France may recall envoys to Israel

Published: Dec. 3, 2012 at 3:00 AM

JERUSALEM, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Britain and France are poised to recall their Israeli envoys to protest Israel's decision to add settlements in a contentious West Bank area, Haaretz reported.

"This time it won't just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel," a senior European diplomat told the Israeli newspaper.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to allow a development that would separate the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem could prevent the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state, The New York Times reported.

The development of the mostly empty area known as E1 was announced Friday, a day after the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the status of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the same rank as the Catholic Church's Holy See.

Israeli officials also authorized construction of 3,000 housing units in parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The E1 settlement would put housing along a 4-mile stretch between Jerusalem to the large settlement city of Maale Adumim, the site of the biblical Good Samaritan parable in the Book of Luke.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/12/03/UK-France-may-recall-envoys-to-Israel/UPI-64571354521600/#ixzz2DyseqcmM


Among many other things, this is quite the significant break with the U.S.