Next week Israel is to approve Jerusalem periphery E1 South and East spatial plans, which would allow for the addition of 3,401 settlement housing units and the transfer – in grave breach of international law – of an additional 14,500 settlers to the heart of the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian communities in the path of expanding settlements will likely fall victim to destruction of property, denial of essential services, obstruction of humanitarian relief and eventual forcible transfer from their current locales. This serious violation of international law, and the catastrophic humanitarian consequences it would have, must not be allowed to transpire.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission stated on X that “The announcement by Israeli Minister Smotrich to build 3,300 new units in illegal West Bank settlements is inflammatory and dangerous. Settlements make Israelis and Palestinians less safe, fuel tensions, obstruct peace efforts, and constitute a grave breach of international law.”