EU urges Israel to halt West Bank settlement plan, citing illegality and damage to peace prospects

The European Union has strongly called on Israel to retract a tender for the construction of more than 1,200 homes in the E1 zone on the occupied Palestinian West Bank. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized in a statement that the construction would significantly harm the prospects for a two-state solution.

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The EU's position is clear: Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including in the E1 area, are illegal under international law. We call on the Government of Israel to withdraw the tender, halt its plans for E1 and all other settlement expansion projects, and ensure accountability for settler violence.

Kallas explained that building in the E1 area would effectively "divide the West Bank into two parts, isolating East Jerusalem." This division, she argued, would sever the territorial contiguity of the West Bank, cutting off the northern and southern regions and isolating East Jerusalem from the rest of the Palestinian territory. Such a move would impede Palestinian access to what they envision as the capital of their future state.

The EU's position is unequivocal: Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including E1, are illegal under international law. "We call on the Government of Israel to withdraw the tender, halt its plans for E1 and all other settlement expansion projects, and ensure accountability for settler violence," Kallas stated. The EU also noted the ongoing instability on the West Bank, marked by a record level of violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, and acknowledged recent indictments against some perpetrators.

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The West Bank remains unstable, and a record level of violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population has been recorded, and the EU notes that Israeli prosecutors have recently filed indictments against some perpetrators of this violence.

The E1 project, officially known as "East 1," encompasses a 12-square-kilometer area northeast of East Jerusalem, falling within the municipal boundaries of the large Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The completion of E1 would physically make the creation of a viable, independent Palestinian state impossible, thereby blocking a two-state solution. The area is currently home to several Bedouin communities, including the village of Khan al-Ahmar, which faces potential displacement due to the plan. While the concept of building in E1 dates back to 1994, implementation has been stalled for decades due to significant diplomatic pressure from the United States and the EU, until the current Israeli government's decision to move forward.

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The EU reaffirms its unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on the two-state solution in line with UN Security Council resolutions, where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security within safe and recognized borders.