S Africa summons Israeli ambassador over new Jewish settlements

South Africa has summoned Israel’s ambassador to Pretoria over Tel Aviv’s recently-announced plan to build thousands more settler units on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“We felt we had to do this to show how concerned we are about new settlement plans,” said Deputy Minister of International Relations Ebrahim Ebrahim on Thursday.

The official added that the move “is in line with similar action taken in Britain, France, and Germany.
The plan to build 3,000 more settler units in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the West Bank was approved on November 30.

The approval came after the United Nations General Assembly upgraded Palestine’s status at the UN from non-member observer entity to non-member observer state. The status has granted Palestine access to UN agencies and the International Criminal Court.

Earlier in the week, Australia, Spain, Sweden, and Denmark also summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their capitals in reaction to the Israeli plan.

Over 120 settlements, built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds, house more than half a million Israelis. The UN considers the settlements to be illegal due to their construction on occupied territory.