Dutch civil engineering group HaskoningDHV has pulled out of a project to develop a waste water treatment plant in Jerusalem after the foreign ministry said it could conflict with international law.

In a statement the company said ‘in the course of the project, and after due consultation with various stakeholders, the company came to understand that future involvement in the project could be in violation of international law.’

The waste water project included the construction of a sewage treatment plant in occupied East Jerusalem.

The government’s advice was greeted by anger in Israel, because the treatment plant would benefit Silwan, a large Palestinian neighbourhood in Jerusalem, as well as the Jewish settlement, Dutch media reported.