Türkiye, Spain, the United Kingdom and Germany have condemned Israel’s approval of thousands of new illegal settlement units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, warning it will undermine the two-state solution and violate international law.
On Thursday, Israeli media reported that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved the construction of 3,401 settler units in Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and 3,515 more in surrounding areas.
The project aims to split the West Bank into northern and southern parts, isolating East Jerusalem.
RelatedTRT Global – Israel’s illegal settlement plan in occupied West Bank would ‘further entrench’ occupation: UN
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the move “disregards international law and United Nations resolutions” and “targets the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine, the basis for a two-state solution, and hopes for lasting peace.”
It reaffirmed Türkiye’s support for an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called the expansion “a new violation of international law” that “undermines the viability of the two-state solution, the only path to peace,” also condemning settler violence.