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IRELAND IS AMONG 21 countries to sign a joint statement calling Israel’s approval of a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank “unacceptable and a violation of international law”.
Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, had been under consideration for more than two decades – but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations.
Israel approved the plans for the roughly 12-square-kilometre parcel of land which would effectively cut the West Bank in two on Wednesday.
The joint statement, which has also been signed by Australia, Canada and Italy, said the plans are “unacceptable and a violation of international law”.
We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden also signed the statement, as did the European Commission’s foreign affairs chief.
Tánaiste @SimonHarrisTD has joined 21 counterparts from Europe and globally in condemning plans for settlement construction in the E1 area of the West Bank. These plans are a violation of international law & a fundamental threat to the two-state solution - they must be reversed. pic.twitter.com/FTmIbDZbEv
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) August 21, 2025
The statement noted that Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the plan “will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem”.
“This brings no benefits to the Israeli people,” the foreign ministers said.
“Instead, it risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability, taking us further away from peace.
The statement concluded: “The government of Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan going any further. We encourage them to urgently retract this plan.
“Unilateral action by the Israeli government undermines our collective desire for security and prosperity in the Middle East. The Israeli government must stop settlement construction in line with UNSC Resolution 2334 and remove their restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority.”
The plan includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, Smotrich said during a press conference at the site last week.
All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.
The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between Ramallah, in the northern West Bank, and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
The two cities are 14 miles apart by air, but Palestinians travelling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints, adding hours to the journey.
The hope for final status negotiations for a Palestinian state was to have the region eventually serve as a direct link between the cities.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority has slammed the latest move, which has also been criticised by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Britain today summoned Israeli ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely to the foreign ministry to protest the decision.
“If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution,” the foreign office said in a statement.
With reporting from © AFP 2025
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