International
Seven Western leaders condemn Israel’s E1 settlement tenders as ‘unacceptable’
The UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway have urged Israel to retract plans for 1,234 homes east of Jerusalem, warning any company that bids could risk breaching international law.
Seven Western governments have jointly condemned Israel’s decision to open construction tenders for the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank, urging an immediate retraction and warning companies against bidding for the work.
The statement, released on Thursday, was signed by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway. Several European foreign ministries had pressed the case most forcefully in recent days, but the official text carries the names of all seven leaders.
The governments said the E1 project would undermine the prospect of a two-state solution by cutting through the West Bank and damaging the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian Territories. They reiterated the long-standing international position, reaffirmed by the United Nations Security Council, that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
The signatories also cautioned businesses against submitting bids, saying firms risked legal and reputational consequences and possible complicity in serious breaches of international law. They called on Israel to halt settlement expansion, arguing it would push the region further from peace and damage Israel’s international standing.
What the tender covers
The intervention followed Israel’s move on 18 August to open bidding for 1,234 housing units in E1, part of a wider plan for 3,401 units approved in August 2025. The bid deadline falls shortly before Israel’s general election on 27 October. E1 is a tract of roughly 12 square kilometres between occupied East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Critics say construction there would sever the northern and southern West Bank and cut East Jerusalem off from any future Palestinian state.
The United Kingdom escalated separately, with the Foreign Secretary summoning Israel’s charge d’affaires in London for a formal rebuke. London has signalled that further measures, reported to include targeted sanctions over settlement expansion, could follow in the coming weeks.
Israeli response
Israeli ministers dismissed the criticism. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading champion of E1, cast the plan last year as a way to block Palestinian statehood, saying at the time: “The idea of a Palestinian state has been erased.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also rejected the international objections.
Wider pressure
The joint statement adds to broader diplomatic pressure. The European Union is reported to be preparing measures, including labelling Israeli products and suspending some collaborations, should E1 construction begin. Egypt and Jordan separately condemned the tenders. The UN Secretary-General has previously described E1 as an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.
Inside Israel, rights groups and affected Palestinian communities have asked the Jerusalem District Court to freeze the tender while legal challenges to the project proceed.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 war. Successive international bodies regard its settlements there as illegal, a position Israel rejects.