The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada have condemned Israel’s move to seek construction bids for new settlement homes in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, calling for the plans to be withdrawn immediately.
In a joint statement, the five countries described the decision as unacceptable and said it would move prospects for peace further away while damaging Israel’s international standing. They said the decision was particularly concerning amid instability in the West Bank, settler violence against civilians and restrictions affecting the Palestinian economy.
Israel’s housing ministry issued a tender on Wednesday for 1,234 of 3,401 housing units approved by the Israeli government last August. The project covers about 12 square kilometres of land between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.
The tender followed a legal challenge brought by Bedouin Palestinians living in the area and Israeli peace groups. Bids are due by 19 October, shortly before Israel’s general election on 27 October. The timing could make it more difficult for a future government to reverse tenders that are issued.
Concerns over a Palestinian state
Settlement construction in E1 had been delayed for decades under international pressure. Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians seek those territories, along with Gaza, for a future state.
The UN secretary general said separately that the E1 project posed an existential threat to a contiguous Palestinian state. Belgium’s foreign minister made a similar assessment.
Opponents of the project say it could divide the West Bank between north and south and prevent the development of a connected Palestinian urban area linking Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. At the time the wider plans were approved, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the idea of a Palestinian state was being erased.
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians also live. The source says settlement expansion has increased sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 with a right-wing, pro-settler coalition, and following the start of the Gaza war.
Source: BBC News
