Five Western countries condemn Israeli settlement plan
Opponents say building in E1 would split the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem and block a contiguous Palestinian state, weakening prospects for a two-state solution.
reede, 21. august 2026 07:34
The UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada condemned Israel’s plan to open tenders for about 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank on Thursday, calling the decision “unacceptable,” BBC News reported.
In a joint statement, the five countries urged Israel to “retract the plans immediately”. They said the decision was “even more concerning” amid “grave instability in the West Bank with unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians, and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy”.
“Not only will they [the plans] take us further from peace, but they further undermine Israel's international standing,” the statement said. In separate statements, the UN secretary general and Belgium’s foreign minister said the E1 plan posed an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.
All settlements are illegal under international law. Israel held off for decades on building in E1, east of Jerusalem, under international pressure, while many allies and Palestinians argued development there would deal a major blow to a two-state solution by effectively cutting the West Bank in two and isolating East Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the Israeli housing ministry issued a tender for 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved by the Israeli government last August. The project covers about 12 sq km between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim, and had been challenged in an Israeli court by Bedouin Palestinians living in the area and Israeli peace groups.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said when the plans were unveiled that the idea of a Palestinian state was “being erased”. The deadline for bids is 19 October, days before Israel’s general election on 27 October, making any tenders harder for a future government to overturn.
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