LONDON, March 15, 2011 (WAFA) – A British Foreign Office spokesperson Tuesday expressed concern by his government over Israel’s approval to build 400 new housing units in West Bank settlements.

“We are extremely concerned by the Government of Israel’s approval of 400 new housing units in settlements in the West Bank,” said the spokesperson commenting on Israel’s decision to approve 400 new housing units in West Bank settlements following the killing of five members of a settler family in Itamar, north of the West Bank, late Friday.

“We have consistently made clear, including at the UN with France and Germany, that settlements are illegal, an obstacle to peace and a threat to a two-state solution,” said the spokesperson. ”Further steps to advance settlement construction are counterproductive and undermine peace at a time when all possible efforts have to be made to return to the negotiating table.”

M.A.