France urges Israel to abandon controversial West Bank E1 settlement plan
"France calls on Israel to abandon this project, which constitutes a serious violation of international law," said a French foreign ministry statement.
It came days after Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state.
The construction on a tract of land east of Jerusalem named E1 has been under consideration for more than two decades, and is especially controversial because it is one of the last geographic links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
"France strongly condemns the decision by the Israeli authorities to approve the E1 settlement project, which involves the construction of more than 3,000 housing units east of Jerusalem," said the statement.
"Its implementation would cut the West Bank in two and seriously undermine the two-state solution, which is the only way to guarantee lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. France reiterates its condemnation of settlement activity and all the tensions and violence it provokes," the statement added.
The UN human rights office on Friday said Israel's decision to build the new settlement was illegal under international law and that it put nearby Palestinians at risk of forced eviction, which it described as a war crime.
Development in E1 was long frozen, largely due to US pressure during previous administrations. On Thursday, Smotrich praised US President Donald Trump and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as 'true friends of Israel as we have never had before'.
The E1 plan is expected to receive final approval on August 20, capping off 20 years of bureaucratic wrangling. The planning committee on August 6 rejected all of the petitions to stop the construction filed by rights groups and activists, according to Peace Now, which tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank and filed opposition.
While some bureaucratic steps remain, if the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year, according to experts.
Smotrich on Thursday boasted that the construction, which is expected to get final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans.
His announcement came as many countries, including France, Australia, Britain and Canada say they will recognise a Palestinian state in September, at the UN General Assembly.
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