Israel PM Slams EU 'Hypocrisy' on Settlements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the European Union Thursday for summoning envoys over plans for some 1,800 new homes for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

"This is hypocrisy. The EU calls our ambassadors in because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors about incitement that calls for Israel's destruction?" Netanyahu asked foreign correspondents at his annual new year reception.

"It's time to stop this hypocrisy," he said. "This imbalance... doesn't advance peace, I think it pushes peace further away."

Netanyahu's government announced plans for the new homes in the West Bank, including annexed Arab east Jerusalem, just days after the latest peace mission by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who has slammed them as "illegitimate" and "unhelpful."

Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Agence France Presse that Israeli ambassadors in London, Rome and Paris were summoned "in protest" over the settlement plans, which were unveiled last Friday.

Palmor said that the move was coordinated between the three governments and that it was possible other European governments might have matched the move.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told AFP the Israeli ambassador was summoned "over the Israeli government's recent decision to announce new settlement tenders".

Foreign Office permanent under-secretary Simon Fraser "made clear that settlement announcements had a detrimental impact on an atmosphere conducive to productive talks. The UK urged Israel to refrain from further such announcements," the spokesman said.