PARIS, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- France on Monday summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest Israel's newly proposed settlement plans, French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The Israeli ambassador was reminded that France condemns Israeli settlement activity in all its forms," the statement said.
"Settlement activity is illegal under international law, undermines the trust necessary for the resumption of dialogue and constitutes an obstacle to a just peace based on the two-state solution," it added.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to construct 3,000 new settlements mainly in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The move came a day after the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state.
France was the first European state to confirm it would vote for upgrading the Palestinians' status at the UN from "entity" to "non-member state."
In the statement, the French Foreign Ministry warned Israel that "construction in the E1 area would seriously undermine the two-state solution by isolating Jerusalem, which is destined to become the capital of both states, from the West Bank, and by threatening the territorial contiguity and viability of the future Palestinian state."
"We urge the parties to the peace process to refrain from any gesture that might complicate the swift and unconditional resumption of the negotiations, which we've been calling for," the ministry stressed.
On Saturday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius urged Israeli officials to "clearly demonstrate their willingness to resume (peace) negotiations."
"This decision would be a serious obstacle to the solution of two states, by undermining the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. It would undermine the trust necessary for the resumption of dialogue," the minister said.
The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians came to a halt in 2010 over growing criticism of Israel's expansion of its West Bank settlements.
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