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.
In the statement, the four countries warned companies against taking part in tenders for construction projects in the E1 area or other building projects.
"They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences of participating in settlement construction including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law," they said.
They also said they opposed those, including some members of the Israeli government, who advocate annexation and the forcible displacement of the Palestinian population. The four reiterated their support for a two-state solution "where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders."
They also called on Israel to respect longstanding arrangements governing Jerusalem's holy sites and to ease financial restrictions affecting the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian economy.
The statement rejected calls by some Israeli officials to annex parts of the occupied West Bank and opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians.
The four countries reaffirmed support for a negotiated two-state solution based on Israel and a future Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security within internationally recognized borders.
The West Bank, captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, remains home to millions of Palestinians as well as hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers living in settlements widely regarded as illegal under international law, though Israel disputes that characterization.
The territory remains a central focus of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Violence has intensified across the occupied territory in recent years amid repeated Israeli military raids, Palestinian attacks and retaliatory settler violence.
Peace efforts aimed at achieving a two-state solution have repeatedly stalled, with disagreements over borders, security, settlements and the status of Jerusalem remaining unresolved.
