Israel slams UK demand to halt West Bank settlement project

Israel's foreign minister on Thursday slammed a demand by the UK government to halt a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area. Britain said it had summoned Israel's charge d'affairs over the E1 plan, which was green-lit by Israel last year and has drawn international condemnation. The UN secretary general said at the time that E1 posed an "existential threat" to a…