The continued Israeli expansion in the West Bank, particularly a call for tenders inviting bids to build more than 1,200 settlement homes in the E1 area, has prompted several Islamic countries to call for urgent international action against Israel’s expansion plan.
The Spanish government and more than 100 former French and British diplomats have also written to their president and prime minister, warning of the erasure of the Palestinian state in front of the world’s eyes and seeking immediate action against Israel, including trade and arms-sale bans.
A coordinated statement from the foreign ministers of Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt has condemned Israel’s settlement plan, stating that activities east of occupied East Jerusalem amount to violations of international law and pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security.
They warned of an accelerated settlement expansion and annexation, threatening the territorial contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly the connection between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, if the E1 settlement plan were implemented.
Spain also “strongly condemned” Israel’s decision to issue tenders for more than 1,200 homes in E1, while Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway had earlier joined other governments in rejecting the project, warning that the proposed construction would further undermine the prospects for peace and a two-state solution.
Meanwhile, more than a hundred former British and French diplomats who had worked in the Middle East for a considerable period have jointly penned a letter to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron, urging them to take immediate measures, such as suspending arms and trade deals, to exert pressure on the Israeli government.
The signatories also wanted the suspension of European and British agreements with Israel over alleged breaches of human-rights provisions, unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza, measures preventing citizens from purchasing property in Israeli settlements built on Palestinian land, and consequences for companies involved in settlement construction or financing.
While acknowledging Hamas’s attacks of 7 October 2023 as “heinous crimes”, former diplomats argued that Israel’s relentless attack on Palestinian citizens, akin to ethnic cleansing and genocide, in no way could be justified, and accused the Israeli government of pursuing policies that undermine Palestinian self-determination and an independent Palestinian state.
Rejecting the international criticism of its settlement policy, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel would not remain passive and defended what he described as the Jewish people’s right to live throughout Israel.
The former diplomats, however, urged Britain and France to turn their recognition of Palestine into concrete action, arguing that diplomatic statements alone would not preserve the two-state solution.