Europe threatens action against Israel over E1 settlement plan
Britain, France, Germany and Italy demand Israel withdraw the 1,234-home tender; Smotrich rejects ‘dictates’ and sanctions threats
France, Germany, Britain and Italy jointly denounced Israel's announcement of a construction tender for 1,234 new homes in the E1 settlement area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim on Thursday evening. The European powers declared the Israeli government's decision "unacceptable," citing their longstanding opposition to the expansion of settlements and the severe threat it poses to the two-state solution.
They emphasized that the E1 project would fragment the West Bank, severing its territorial contiguity with East Jerusalem and undermining the viability of a Palestinian state. International law unequivocally declares Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. At a sensitive time marked by rampant settler violence and severe restrictions on the Palestinian economy, these actions are particularly alarming, they argued.
They urged Israel to retract the plans immediately and cease the settlement expansion, warning that such moves will push Israel further away from peace and damage its international standing. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich defiantly responded to British Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband's condemnation, accusing him of threatening sanctions and insisting that Israel will not bow to foreign dictates.
Smotrich vowed to press ahead with the E1 plans, emphasizing the project's significance to the State of Israel.
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