RAMALLAH: Several European countries summoned their Israeli ambassadors after the plans were announced to build an additional 3,000 “structures" in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank on Friday. Australia also called on its Israeli ambassador to protest the decision. Since Friday Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain all summoned their respective Israeli ambassadors. The United Kingdom foreign office issued a press release on Monday that said it “deplored" Israel's plans to build more settlements as a means of punishing the Palestinian Authority (PA) after it received a status upgrade at the United Nations last Thursday. The UN General Assembly approve an upgrade of Palestine from “entity" to “nonmember observer state" by a vote of 138-9 in favor. The United States, Israel, Czech Republic, and Australia were among those that voted against Palestine. The projected settlement activity in question is of particular significance because of the location in which Israeli authorities intend to build structures, known as E1. E1, if developed, will separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which the UNGA recognized as Palestine's capital by approving the status upgrade last week. Furthermore, it will complete a full circle of settlements around Jerusalem and divide the West Bank into two separate slabs of land, effectively rendering the two-state solution impossible.