Key European Leaders Demand Israel Halt West Bank Settlement Project
The seven governments warned the E1 project would sever the West Bank and said businesses face legal and reputational risks from bidding.
- Leaders of seven countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, condemned a major settlement project in the West Bank, urging Israel to "retract these plans immediately and end its expansion of settlements."
- Israel's housing ministry published a tender on August 18 for more than 1,200 homes, representing roughly one-third of a planned 3,400-unit development in the sensitive tract between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.
- Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants from the Gaza Strip; the secretary general warned the project poses an "existential threat" to a Palestinian state.
- Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot called the tenders "unacceptable" on Thursday, stating the project "would seriously undermine the viability of the two-State solution."
- Submissions for the housing project are due by October 19, one week before Israeli elections scheduled for October 27, positioning the deadline amid electoral pressures.
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85 Articles
Six European leaders condemn Israeli settlement plan in West Bank
Leaders of six European nations on Thursday condemned the Israeli government's decision to publish construction tenders for the E1 settlement project in the West Bank, calling on Israel to immediately retract the plans.
The Israeli government approved the E1 program in August 2025, which provides for the construction of approximately 3,400 homes in the West Bank.
The Israeli Housing Ministry began to receive offers for the construction of more than 1200 housing units in E1, while, in a joint statement, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway and the Netherlands called for no tender.
Together with Berlin they condemn the bans to build in E1: "So it will be impossible to create a Palestinian state"
MNE criticizes the progress of the 1,200 homes of the megaproject E1, which threatens to divide the West Bank. United Kingdom, France, Germany and more countries also called on Israel to stop.
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