Foreign Minister Penny Wong has joined an international coalition in condemning Israel’s plan to build a sprawling new settlement in the West Bank, further damaging Australia’s already frayed relationship with Israel. Israel recently approved plans to construct settlements in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem , in the occupied West Bank.

The country’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich – who is sanctioned by Australia and the UK – said the E1 development ‘definitively buries the idea of a Palestinian state’. ‘Simply because there is nothing to recognise, and no-one to recognise,’ Smotrich said last week.

But on Friday morning Senator Wong released a joint statement with 20 other Western nations and the European Union , including the UK, France , Canada and the Netherlands , to condemn the plans, describing them as ‘unacceptable and a violation of international law’. ‘We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,’ the joint statement added.

‘Minister Smotrich says this plan will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem. ‘This brings no benefits to the Israeli people. Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.

‘The Government of Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan going any further. We encourage them to urgently retract this plan.’ Senator Wong insisted that the unilateral action ‘undermines our collective desire for security and prosperity in the Middle East’.

‘The Israeli government must stop settlement construction in line with UNSC Resolution 2334 and remove their restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority,’ she added. The move will risk inflaming the already fierce tensions between Israel and Australia, which are at their lowest ebb since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erupted in fury and labelled Anthony Albanese ‘weak’ after the Australian Prime Minister decided to join other Western nations in recognising Palestinian statehood at the United Nations next month. Tensions deteriorated further after Immigration Minister Tony Burke revoked the visa of elected Israeli politician Simcha Rothman because he had described Palestinian children as ‘enemies’.

In response, Israel ‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the visas of Australia’s representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked. On Thursday night, Netanyahu intensified his attacks on Albanese, claiming he was a ‘weak leader’ who had ‘abandoned’ Australia’s Jews.

‘I’m sure he has a reputable record as a public servant, but I think his record is forever tarnished by the weakness he has shown in the face of these Hamas terrorist monsters,’ Netanyahu told Sky News.

‘When the worst terrorist organisation on earth – these savages who murdered women, raped them, beheaded men, burnt babies alive in front of their parents and took hundreds of hostages. ‘When these people congratulate the Prime Minister of Australia, you know something is wrong.’