Multiple leaders condemn Smotrich's reveal of construction plans for West Bank

Israel’s decision to advance thousands of homes in a contentious West Bank development – a move ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed “buries the idea of a Palestinian state” – has sparked widespread international condemnation.

On August 14, Smotrich announced he was reviving long-frozen plans for the E1 settlement project, which would link East Jerusalem to the existing Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, several kilometres to the east. The Times of Israel reported that the announcement triggered strong backlash both internationally and from local organisations.

The project, shelved for years due to opposition from the United States and European allies, would include over 3,400 homes for Israeli settlers in a region considered essential for a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank. The right-wing minister defended the revival, citing other countries’ moves, such as the UK and France recognising a Palestinian state.

International reactions have been sharply critical, describing the plans as a clear breach of international law that threatens regional stability and jeopardises any two-state solution.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated the plan “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,” reaffirming Türkiye’s support for an independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

British Foreign Minister David Lammy urged the plan to be stopped, telling Reuters, “The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law.”

Germany, a key supporter of Israel, also called for the project to halt. A Foreign Office spokesperson in Berlin said, “The settlement construction violates international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. It complicates a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as demanded by the International Court of Justice.”

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticised the plan as a “breach of international law” that would undermine the two-state solution. “If implemented, settlement construction in this area will permanently cut the geographical and territorial contiguity between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and sever the connection between the northern and southern West Bank,” she said.

Arab nations also condemned the development. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced the plans, citing the illegality of Israeli occupation and settlement expansion under international law, UN resolutions, and the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion, calling for an immediate end. Qatar, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia joined the condemnation, denouncing the settlement plans “in the strongest possible terms.”

By Nazrin Sadigova