Global outcry as Israel pushes E1 settlement to kill Palestinian state

Israel's approval of the long-delayed E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank has drawn sweeping international condemnation, with world leaders warning it would mark a decisive blow to the prospect of a Palestinian state.

On Wednesday, Israel's planning committee approved the construction of around 3,400 housing units in the so-called E1 corridor, a strategic stretch of land linking Bethlehem and Ramallah.

The project, illegal under international law, would split the West Bank in two, severing its north from south, and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state all but impossible.

The location of E1 is particularly significant because it is one of the last geographical links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south.

Palestinians travelling between the two cities must already take long detours through multiple Israeli checkpoints, and settlement development in E1 would sever that connection almost entirely.

Settlement construction in E1 has been debated by Israeli leaders for more than two decades, but was repeatedly frozen due to international pressure, particularly from the United States.

Israeli officials now say infrastructure work could begin within months, with housing construction starting within a year.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Israel to halt the plan, saying it violates international law and UN resolutions.

His spokesperson said that advancing the project "poses an existential threat to the two-state solution" and would have "grave consequences for the geographic continuity of the occupied Palestinian territory".

Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands all issued statements warning that the settlement plan would fatally undermine a two-state solution.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the decision "unacceptable and in violation of international law".

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said from Jakarta that such projects "would make a two-state solution impossible", while Dutch Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp described the move as a "clear violation" of international law.

The UN human rights office went further, affirming E1's illegal nature and warning that forced displacement of Palestinians in the area would amount to a war crime.

"It is a war crime for an occupying power to transfer its own civilian population into the territory it occupies," a spokesperson said.

However, Israel's extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who announced the revived plan earlier this month, vowed to push forward, saying it would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state.

"The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions," he boasted. "Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea."

The timing of the announcement comes following recent declarations by countries including Britain, France, and Australia that they plan to recognise Palestinian statehood during the upcoming UN General Assembly session.

Israel has pressed ahead with illegal settlement expansion despite decades of international opposition. About 700,000 Israeli settlers now live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

While Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank, which most world powers regard as occupied territory.

Human rights groups, including the Israeli organisation Peace Now, have long described E1 as a "knockout blow" to the two-state solution.

The group said the plan would not only bisect the West Bank but also isolate Jerusalem, entrenching permanent Israeli control and deepening Palestinian displacement.