That statement was echoed by Germany’s foreign ministry in a post on X on Friday morning: “We strongly reject the Israeli government’s announcements regarding the approval of thousands of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Settlement construction violates international law.”
The so-called E1 project had been frozen for decades due to pressure from the international community, as many feared the plans would hinder the establishment of a Palestinian state, which proponents of the two-state solution deem necessary to bring peace to the region.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued a statement Thursday urging Israel to cease settlement construction, “noting its far-reaching implications and the need to consider action to protect the viability of the two-state solution.”
The hearing for final approval of the plan has been scheduled at record speed for next Wednesday, according to the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now.
“After decades of international pressure and freezes, we are breaking conventions and connecting Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem. This is Zionism at its best — building, settling, and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel,” Smotrich reportedly said earlier this week.
About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Reuters.