RNZ NewsPrime Minister Christopher Luxon is condemning Israel’s E1 settlement plan for the occupied West Bank, despite New Zealand not signing a joint statement on the matter. Twenty-seven countries, including the UK and Australia, have condemned Israel’s plans to build an illegal settlement east of Jerusalem. The countries have said the plan would “make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem”. “Irrespective of that, we are very, very concerned about what is happening in the West Bank, particularly the E1 settlement programme. “We have believed for a long time that those settlements are illegal.”This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.