‘A step in the wrong direction’: Israel’s West Bank plans prompt global backlash

US, Britain, EU and Arab nations condemn plans that Israeli ministers say will kill the idea of a Palestinian state'

Israeli measures to tighten its control of the West Bank have prompted a global backlash, including a signal from Washington restating the Trump administration's opposition to annexation of the occupied territory.

Announcing the measures, which involve extending Israeli control in areas that are currently under Palestinian administration, Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, made clear they were aimed at strengthening Israeli settlements in the West Bank and pre-empting the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestine.