Global Outcry over “Israel’s” E1 Settlement Plan in Occupied West Bank

By Staff, Agencies

The apartheid “Israeli” entity’s approval of the controversial E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank has triggered widespread international condemnation, with more than 20 countries and the European Union demanding its cancellation.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the foreign ministers of 21 nations—including France, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and several EU members—described the plan as “unacceptable” and a flagrant violation of international law.

They warned that the project undermines regional security, fuels instability, and destroys prospects for peace.

The ministers urged the entity to halt all settlement expansion in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334, emphasizing that “‘Israel’ still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan” and calling for its urgent retraction.

Approved by the entity’s Higher Planning Committee, the E1 plan paves the way for 3,400 new settlement units east of Al-Quds, in addition to 342 units in the “Asael” settlement in the southern West Bank.

The entity’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly declared that the project is intended to “erase” the possibility of a Palestinian state.

The United Nations has already denounced the settlement push, reaffirming that all “Israeli” settlements in occupied Palestinian territories are illegal.

Rights groups, including Breaking the Silence, condemned the project as a “land grab” that entrenches apartheid and further fragments Palestinian land.

Observers say the timing reflects the entity’s backlash to recent moves by countries such as the UK, France and Australia to recognize Palestinian statehood at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile, the entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject a Palestinian state and insists on permanent control over the West Bank, annexed East Al-Quds [“Jerusalem”] and Gaza.

The settlement approval comes as the entity intensifies its genocidal war on Gaza, where nearly 62,122 Palestinians have been martyred and over 156,000 wounded since October 7, 2023—most of them women and children.