Five Western countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel for auctioning a project to build over 1,200 housing units in a key area of the West Bank, which would severely affect the establishment of a Palestinian state.
On Thursday, 20 Aug 2026 GMT+7, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada released a joint statement strongly condemning Israel after its government opened bidding for over 1,200 housing units in the West Bank's "E1" area. They called on Israel to immediately cancel the plan.
The E1 construction project covers about 12 square kilometers between East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. It would divide the West Bank into northern and southern parts and separate East Jerusalem from Palestinian areas, with many warning it would completely destroy the chance to establish a contiguous Palestinian state.
The joint statement noted that Israel's decision comes at a time when the West Bank is facing severe unrest, with unprecedented violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, and the Palestinian economy is severely constrained.
Israel's Ministry of Housing has auctioned 1,234 housing units out of 3,401 approved units, setting the bidding deadline for 19 Oct, just days before Israel's general election, making it much harder for a new government to cancel the project.
The United Nations Secretary-General and Belgium's Foreign Minister warned that this plan threatens the existence of a Palestinian state.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, it has built about 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jewish residents, interspersed among approximately 3.3 million Palestinians.
Settlement expansion has surged dramatically since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office with a far-right coalition government at the end of 2022.
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Source:bbc