Key European leaders demand Israel halt West Bank settlement project

France, Italy, Britain, and Germany have strongly criticized Israel's plan to build more than 1,200 homes in the West Bank, urging the Israeli government to withdraw the plans and halt settlement expansion. The joint statement from the four nations, issued on Thursday (Aug 20), expressed concern over the decision, coming at a time of heightened violence in the West Bank and severe restrictions on Palestinian economic activities.

The UN secretary-general has described the E1 plan as posing an existential threat to a contiguous Palestinian state. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot called the tenders "unacceptable," while Britain's top diplomat, Ed Miliband, demanded an end to the project and settlement expansion, accusing Israel of targeting only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism.

Israeli Prime Minister Gideon Saar rejected Miliband's statement, accusing the UK of blaming Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism. Israel's housing ministry had published the tender for the E1 project just east of Jerusalem in August last year, with the plan seeking to build around 3,400 homes on a 12-square-kilometre parcel of land.

The tender, which opened for bids on Aug 18, covers more than 1,200 housing units and is seen as one-third of the planned E1 development.