Four European countries on Friday condemned Israel's planned expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning that the move threatens prospects for peace and undermines international law.
"International law is clear: Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal," the governments of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement on the situation in the West Bank.
The statement mentioned the so-called E1 area located between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.
The area is considered one of the most sensitive flashpoints. Development there would, in effect, split the West Bank into a northern and a southern part, making it more difficult or even impossible to create a contiguous territory for a future Palestinian state.
E1 is a roughly 12-square-kilometer (4.6-square-mile) area in the occupied West Bank between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. Israeli authorities have long promoted plans to build thousands of housing units and related infrastructure there to strengthen links between the settlement and Jerusalem.
