The European Union and 21 countries have
condemned Israel's decision to advance the construction of thousands of settlement housing units in the controversial E1 area of the occupied West Bank, calling it "unacceptable" and a "violation of international law."
The joint statement urged Israel to reverse the move, warning that building in E1 would sever occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, undermine the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state, and threaten the two-state solution.
Signatories included Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, alongside the European Union's foreign policy chief.
