LISBON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Portugal’s foreign minister said on Monday that Israeli settlement expansion and \u200beconomic pressure in the occupied West \u200cBank and East Jerusalem were undermining prospects for a viable Palestinian state.<\/p>\n
Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel \u200bsaid Israel’s E1 settlement plan was “extremely \u200bpernicious” because it would divide the West \u2060Bank, isolate East Jerusalem and was \u200bincompatible with a two-state solution.<\/p>\n Israel’s withholding of \u200bPalestinian tax revenues amounted to a “brutal strangulation” of the Palestinian Authority’s finances, preventing the economy from functioning, \u200bhe said after meeting Palestinian Foreign \u200bMinister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin in Lisbon.<\/p>\n Rangel also cited \u200cthe \u2060closure of Christian schools in East Jerusalem as evidence of worsening conditions there.<\/p>\n Portugal recognised the State of Palestine a year ago.<\/p>\n Rangel \u200bsaid the \u200btwo-state \u2060solution was the only way to guarantee peaceful coexistence between Israelis \u200band Palestinians.<\/p>\n Israel said last week \u200bit \u2060was closing Britain’s consulate<\/a> in East Jerusalem in response to plans by the UK, France \u2060and \u200bCanada to block imports from \u200bIsraeli settlements in the West Bank.<\/p>\n Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; \u200bediting by Charlie Devereux and Ros Russell<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n