Italy, Britain, France and Germany warned Friday that the situation in the occupied West Bank has “deteriorated significantly” in recent months amid rising settler violence and Israeli policies they said are undermining stability and prospects for peace, Anadolu reports.
In a joint statement, the four European countries said Israeli settlement activity — including a proposed development in the so-called E1 area — would violate international law and further fragment the territory, jeopardizing the possibility of a viable Palestinian state.
E1 is a roughly 12-square-kilometer (4.6-square-mile) area in the occupied West Bank between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. Israeli authorities have long promoted plans to build thousands of housing units and related infrastructure there to strengthen links between the settlement and Jerusalem.
“The E1 settlement development would divide the West Bank in two and mark a serious breach of international law,” the statement said.
The four countries also warned businesses against involvement in settlement-related projects, citing possible legal and reputational consequences.
The European countries urged Israel to halt settlement expansion, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces.
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They also called on Israel to respect longstanding arrangements governing Jerusalem’s holy sites and to ease financial restrictions affecting the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian economy.
The statement rejected calls by some Israeli officials to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians.
The four countries reaffirmed support for a negotiated two-state solution based on Israel and a future Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.
The West Bank, captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, remains home to millions of Palestinians as well as hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers living in settlements widely regarded as illegal under international law, though Israel disputes that characterization.
The territory remains a central focus of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Violence has intensified across the occupied territory in recent years amid repeated Israeli military raids, Palestinian attacks and retaliatory settler violence.
Peace efforts aimed at achieving a two-state solution have repeatedly stalled, with disagreements over borders, security, settlements and the status of Jerusalem remaining unresolved.
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