Has Israel's settlement expansion crossed a 'red line'?

Both Britain and France have summoned Israel's ambassadors to protest plans to expand construction in East Jerusalem, while some say more serious action like economic reprisals are possible.?

By Arthur Bright,?Staff writer / December 3, 2012

Goats graze near the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem December 1, 2012. Israel announced on Friday it was authorizing 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Baz Ratner/REUTERS

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Israel's plan to move forward with controversial settlements in eastern Jerusalem ? which it took in apparent retaliation for the Palestinian Authority's recent, successful pursuit of recognition as a United Nations nonmember observer state ? is prompting an angry response, and likely "real action," from Europe.

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Europe Editor

Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.? He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.? He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

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Haaretz reports that Britain, France, and Sweden have all summoned Israel's respective ambassadors to their countries to condemn the Israeli plan to build 3,000 new settlement units in the "E1" bloc, a region in eastern Jerusalem, while Germany and Russia both called upon Israel to rethink its plans. And more serious action may be coming, including substantial economic reprisals, Haaretz adds.

?This time it won?t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel,? a senior European diplomat said.

Sky News confirmed that the British government was considering severe actions over the matter, quoting sources in the Foreign Office on Monday as saying: "All options are on the table," adding that there was an "appetite for action" within the bureau, and that officials may consider "revisiting" or even suspending EU trade agreements with Israel, based on human rights clauses. ...

[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu?s decision Friday to move ahead on planning in E1 and to build 3,000 housing units in the settlement blocs and in East Jerusalem, has apparently shocked the foreign ministries and the leaders in London and Paris. Not only do Britain and France view construction in E1 as a ?red line,? they are reportedly angry because they view Israel as having responded ungratefully to the support the two countries gave it during the recent Gaza operation.

Haaretz writes that according to three senior European Union diplomats, Britain and France are coordinating their response to Israel, and have discussed recalling their ambassadors, a major diplomatic rebuke and a first for both countries against Israel. A French Foreign Ministry official told Reuters, however, that "There are other ways in which we can express our disapproval" than by recalling ambassadors.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ZEfH9VMBlhg/Has-Israel-s-settlement-expansion-crossed-a-red-line

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