Europeans pressure Israel over West Bank settlements, citing 'unprecedented levels of violence'

France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway and the Netherlands have issued a joint statement calling Israel's decision to publish tenders for construction in the so-called E1 area of the Palestinian West Bank 'unacceptable,' warning it would effectively split the occupied territory in two.

France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Norway and the Netherlands have issued a joint statement calling Israel's decision to publish tenders for construction in the so-called E1 area of the Palestinian West Bank 'unacceptable,' warning it would effectively split the occupied territory in two.

The UN has said the E1 plan posed an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.

France, Italy, Britain, and Germany strongly condemned the Israeli move, calling for the expansion of settlements to be retracted.

France, Italy, Britain and Germany criticised Israel’s plan to build more than 1,200 homes in the West Bank, calling for the plans to be withdrawn and settlement expansion to end.

Six European governments and Canada decried Israel’s latest plan to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank as “unacceptable” and warned companies to refrain from bidding on construction tenders.

The E1 plan was green-lit by Israel last year and would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.