Foreign ministers from 25 European and other countries, including Australia, Canada and Japan, on Friday condemned Israel’s plans to expand the E1 settlement between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem, they said in a joint statement.
“We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,” said ministers from Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
“The decision by the Israeli Higher Planning Committee to approve plans for settlement construction in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry “rejects the attempt to impose foreign dictates upon [Israel],” it said in a response on Friday.
“The historic right of Jews to live anywhere in the Land of Israel – the birthplace of the Jewish people – is indisputable,” the ministry argued.
“There is no other nation in the world that has a stronger, longer-standing, and better-documented connection to its land than the Jewish people has to the Land of Israel, and this connection and right do not require the affirmation of foreign governments.”
What is the E1 settlement plan?
E1 falls within Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli military and civilian control. The E1 settlement plan was recently approved by the Civil Administration. It was announced by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week, who said that the plan represents concrete steps toward full Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.
“Today we are finally realizing what has been promised for years in E1,” Smotrich said. “From the Palestinian perspective and that of the international community, this is a critical area. Without it, the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital is simply impossible.”
The E1 plan, long delayed, will add approximately 3,400 housing units. If it succeeds, it will split east Jerusalem from the West Bank.