UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada condemn Israel's West Bank settlement project
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- UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada issued a joint statement calling Israel's E1 settlement plan 'unacceptable' and urging immediate retraction, citing 'unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians' and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy.
- Israel's housing ministry issued a tender for 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved last August, covering about 12 sq km between East Jerusalem and the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, with a bid deadline of 19 October.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the E1 plan poses an 'existential threat' to a contiguous Palestinian state, a position echoed by Belgium's foreign minister in a separate statement.
- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said when the plans were unveiled last August that the idea of a Palestinian state was 'being erased,' while UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's condemnation was rejected 'outright' by Israel's foreign minister.
- The 19 October bid deadline falls just eight days before Israel's 27 October general election, making it much harder for any future government to overturn tenders that are issued.
- Settlement expansion has risen sharply since Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of a right-wing pro-settler coalition, and since the start of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack.
- Opponents warn the E1 project would cut the West Bank in two, severing the north from the south and preventing a contiguous Palestinian urban area linking Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem — effectively foreclosing a two-state solution.
Why it matters: The E1 plan's geography between East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim would sever the northern West Bank from the south, blocking the contiguity needed for a Palestinian state. With the 19 October bid deadline landing just eight days before Israel's 27 October election, any contracts signed become nearly impossible for a successor government to reverse, effectively entrenching the settlement before voters weigh in.
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