SINGAPORE: Singapore has urged the Israeli government to halt settlement expansion plans in the West Bank, reiterating that such settlements are illegal under international law.

In a statement on Monday (Aug 24), a spokesperson for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that the proposed construction in the E1 area would "further fragment the West Bank and severely undermine the prospects for a viable two-state solution".

Israeli authorities last week opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area, sparking condemnation from France, Italy, Britain and Germany. Green-lit by Israel last year, the E1 plan would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

The plan for the roughly 12 sq km parcel of land known as E1 seeks to eventually build around 3,400 homes on the ultra-sensitive tract of land, which lies between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim.

“Singapore urges the Israeli government to halt these settlement expansion plans,” the MFA spokesperson said.

Singapore also expressed deep concern over increased in acts of settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

“We call on the Israeli government to take firm action to prevent such violence and to hold those responsible accountable,” the spokesperson said.

"A negotiated two-state solution, consistent with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, remains the only viable pathway to a comprehensive, just, and durable peace."

Excluding east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians. About 500,000 Israeli settlers also live there.