France, Germany, UK and Italy condemn Israel's 'E1' West Bank settlement project
Four European powers issued a joint statement criticizing Israel's decision to open construction tenders for the contested 'E1' settlement project in the West Bank, urging the government to withdraw the plans immediately.
France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy have jointly condemned Israel's decision to launch construction tenders for a major residential development for Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, known as 'E1'.
In a joint statement, the four governments said the move is especially troubling given the current instability in the West Bank, where settler violence against civilians has reached unprecedented levels alongside growing restrictions on the Palestinian economy. They called on Israel's government to retract the plans immediately and halt settlement expansion, while warning businesses that participating in the tenders could expose them to serious violations of international law.
Background on the project
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since the 1967 war, is home to hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers living alongside millions of Palestinians. These settlements are considered illegal under international law. Israel approved plans last August to develop roughly 12 square kilometres of land just east of Jerusalem, envisioning about 3,400 homes on territory separating Jerusalem from the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim. At the time, the UN secretary-general warned that E1 posed an 'existential threat' to the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state, since it would further cut off east Jerusalem — occupied and annexed by Israel, and home mainly to Palestinians — from the rest of the West Bank.
The latest tender
According to the Israeli watchdog group Peace Now, the newly published tender covers more than 1,200 housing units, roughly a third of the full E1 plan. Israel's housing ministry released the tender on August 18 and opened it immediately for bids, with submissions due October 19 — just a week before Israel's elections on October 27. Peace Now said the government appeared to be rushing to lock in construction commitments ahead of the vote. Israel continues to tightly restrict movement for West Bank Palestinians, who need permits to cross checkpoints into east Jerusalem or Israel proper.
