The European Commission and seven additional countries on Friday joined a call for Israel to immediately retract its plans for the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank, a day after the statement was initially issued by the leaders of seven Western countries, Anadolu reports.
Greece, Austria, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Belgium joined the statement, which was originally issued Thursday by the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen separately described Israel’s decision to publish construction tenders for the project as “unacceptable,” warning that it could undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
“The Israeli Government’s decision to publish construction tenders for the E1 settlement project is unacceptable,” von der Leyen said in a post on US social media platform X.
“We have long opposed this step,” she added, saying the project “undermines the two-state solution by dividing the West Bank and breaking the territorial continuity of the Palestinian Territories.”
