LONDON 

Austria on Thursday condemned Israel's controversial E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank, urging Tel Aviv to reconsider its decision.

The Foreign Ministry expressed its opposition to the Israeli decision to approve thousands of new housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank.

"This plan violates international law and risks permanently endangering prospects for a two-state solution," the ministry said on US social media company X.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas. The project aims to split the West Bank into two parts, severing connections between its northern and southern cities and isolating East Jerusalem.