MOSCOW, November 13 (Sputnik) — France urged Israel Thursday to abandon its Wednesday decision to construct 200 new homes in East Jerusalem, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
"The Israeli authorities' decision to approve the construction of 200 new homes in the settlement of Ramot [East Jerusalem] poses, once again, a direct threat to the two-state solution[to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]," the statement on the ministry's official website said. "We urge Israel to reverse this decision…"
The ministry also stated that "everything possible must be done to prevent any escalation and relaunch the peace process".
Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem are the major stumbling block in the Israel-Palestine peace process and are considered illegal by both Palestine and the international community.
Palestinians seek the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, as well as on the Gaza Strip. Palestine designated Jerusalem as its capital and has called on Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it took after the 1967 war.
