France, Italy, Britain and Germany have joined a growing chorus of international opposition to a major Israeli settlement project in the occupied West Bank, after Israel opened bids for more than 1,200 homes there.
Approved by Israel last year, the E1 plan would further divide east Jerusalem — occupied and annexed by Israel, and largely inhabited by Palestinians — from the rest of the West Bank.
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“At a time of grave instability in the West Bank with unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians, and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy, this decision is even more concerning,” the foreign ministers of France, Italy, Germany and Britain said in a joint statement.
“We urge the Government of Israel to retract these plans immediately and end its expansion of settlements in the West Bank,” they added. The ministers also warned companies against bidding for the construction contracts, saying they risked “involving themselves in serious breaches of international law”.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot described the tenders as “unacceptable”, warning that the project “would seriously undermine the viability of the two-State solution”.
His comments followed a statement by Britain’s top diplomat, Ed Miliband, who yesterday called for the project and the wider expansion of settlements in the West Bank to be halted. Britain also summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires.
‘Israel will defend its rights’
Mr Miliband said he had raised the issue directly with Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
Mr Saar rejected Mr Miliband’s statement “outright”, as well as what he called “the patronising tone of his words”.
“The Jewish people have the right to live throughout the Land of Israel, just as the British have the right to live in London and throughout the United Kingdom,” he wrote on X.
Mr Saar accused the UK of “blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism”, which he said was contributing to antisemitic attacks against Britain’s Jewish community.
“The UK Government’s decision to damage the relationship between our countries is deeply unfortunate,” he added, promising that “Israel will defend its rights, its interests and its people”.
The British government also said yesterday that it would announce “a comprehensive set of measures” in the coming weeks, including sanctions against individuals involved in what it described as “illegal settlement expansion”.
Israel approved the development in August last year for the roughly 12-square-kilometre tract known as E1, just east of Jerusalem.
The plan calls for about 3,400 homes on the highly sensitive land between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim.
The latest tender includes more than 1,200 housing units, according to the Israeli non-governmental organisation Peace Now.
Peace Now said Israel’s housing ministry published the tender on 18 August and opened it for bids the same day.
Companies have until 19 October to submit bids, one week before Israeli elections scheduled for 27 October.
The group said the homes represented roughly one-third of the planned E1 development and accused the government of seeking to lock in construction commitments before the vote.
Movement for Palestinians in the West Bank is tightly controlled. They generally require permits from Israeli authorities to pass through checkpoints into east Jerusalem or Israel.
Last year, Britain and France were among 21 countries that condemned Israel’s approval of the E1 project, calling it a breach of international law and urging the government to cancel the decision.
Outside east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians.
Roughly 500,000 Israeli settlers also live in the territory.
Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have risen since Hamas launched its unprecedented assault on Israel from Gaza on 7 October 2023.
Australia summons Israeli envoy
Australia earlier summoned Israel’s ambassador and expressed outrage after the Israeli military decided not to pursue criminal proceedings over the death of an Australian aid worker in a 2024 airstrike in Gaza.
The Israeli military said yesterday that a fact-finding and assessment process had found no grounds to investigate the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including Australian Zomi Frankcom.
“This decision falls far short of the accountability we expect,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, adding that the Australian government was outraged.
“Democracies seek, and accept higher standards. The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel for justice for Zomi and her colleagues.”
Ms Wong said she had instructed Australia’s envoy in Israel to deliver Canberra’s position directly to the Israeli government as officials consider their next steps.
Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was one of seven aid workers killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2024
The strike prompted widespread condemnation from the United States and several allies because those killed included citizens of Britain and Poland, Palestinians, and a dual US-Canadian national.
Israel’s investigation found no criminal liability among the soldiers involved, although it identified operational failures by the military, said Hillel Newman, Israel’s ambassador to Australia.
“It was a mistake, in retrospect, but the findings of the court are that there was no criminal intention, no intention to hit at aid workers, and therefore no criminal responsibility,” Mr Newman told reporters in Canberra after meeting Ms Wong.
Mr Newman said the aid convoy had strayed from a pre-approved route and may have been carrying armed personnel. That, he said, led the Israeli military to believe Hamas militants had taken control of it.
More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Gaza war began in 2023, while thousands more have died in Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The victims include aid workers, doctors, journalists and many others.
Israel’s military says it targets Hamas and Hezbollah militants and has said it launches investigations into some strikes in which civilians are killed.
Read more: Israel army admits firing on car in death of five-year-old Hind Rajab
