JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - 26 nations and UN Secretary-General have condemned the Israeli Government's decision to approve a long-shelved settlement expansion project in the occupied West Bank.
The decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, East of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law, the foreign ministers of these countries said in a joint statement.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs have signed in the statement.
They called for the immediate reversal of the move.
'The decision by the Israeli authorities to expand illegal settlement construction, which would divide the West Bank, must be reversed. All settlement construction is a violation of international law,' said the UN chief.
The settlement is believed to have permission for more than 3,000 houses, schools and a clinic, cutting off East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day war after defeating Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
In an update on Gaza, UN rights office, OHCHR, noted that the Israeli military announced on Wednesday that the 'preliminary phase' of the offensive against Gaza City had begun, focusing on Jabalya in north Gaza and Az Zaytoun in Gaza City.
OHCHR reported intense and continuing Israeli military attacks focusing on Jabalya Al Balad and Jabalya Al Nazla and, separately, further attacks on aid-seekers in the Zikim area.
'Continuous airstrikes, shelling and UAV [drone] bombing were reported, including against residential buildings,' the UN rights office said, with reported demolitions of homes in Jabalya using explosives.
The Israeli military also reportedly continued to broadcast orders using quadcopters as well as phone calls for residents to evacuate large parts of Jabalya, according to OHCHR.
Meanwhile in Gaza City, whole urban areas are being 'totally destroyed', the UN understands, with further destruction now underway in the south and southeast, as military manoeuvres continue.
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