Main content

UN calls on Israel to reverse new settlement plans

There's been fierce international criticism after Israel's finance minister approved plans to build thousands of homes in a controversial settlement in the occupied West Bank.

There's been fierce international criticism of Israeli plans to build more than three-thousand homes in a controversial settlement in the occupied West Bank. The country's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said the move - which will split the territory - will "bury the idea of a Palestinian state". Britain's foreign secretary, David Lammy, described the plan as a "flagrant breach of international law" that "must be stopped".

Also in the programme: Humanitarian workers in Sudan say they lack the resources to deal with a deadly cholera outbreak in camps for people displaced by the civil war; what sort of welcome are Alaskans preparing for President Putin; and why are some female Australian birds developing male sex organs.

(Photo: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at a press conference regarding settlements expansion for the long-frozen E1 settlement, that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

27 days left to listen

50 minutes

Last on

Thursday 20:06GMT

Featured

  • .

Broadcast

  • Thursday 20:06GMT

Podcast