The UK on Thursday officially summoned "Israel’s" ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely, to the Foreign Office in protest of the decision to approve a settlement plan in the strategic E1 corridor of East Occupied al-Quds.

The Higher Planning Committee’s approval covers the construction of roughly 3,400 housing units, linking al-Quds with the illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement and effectively bisecting the West Bank, isolating East Occupied al-Quds and extinguishing prospects for Palestinian territorial contiguity. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was blunt about the intent, declaring the plan would "bury" the idea of a Palestinian state once and for all, calling it the "final nail in the coffin."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed this message days earlier during a visit to the Ofra settlement, boasting that he had fulfilled his pledge to prevent Palestinian statehood  despite what he called decades of "pressures from abroad" and from successive US administrations. Netanyahu insisted that "Israel" had "stood firm together" to block Palestinian sovereignty and cement settler control over Palestinian land.

International condemnation

The UK, joined by 21 other countries including France, Canada, Australia, and EU members, issued a recent joint statement condemning the E1 decision as a "flagrant breach of international law" that "critically undermines a two-state solution." They urged "Israel" to reverse the decision "in the strongest terms."

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office reiterated that the plan contravenes United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which demands an immediate halt to settlement activity. France’s Foreign Ministry issued its own warning, calling the move a "serious violation of international law."  Germany also urged "Israel" to step back from settlement expansion. The European Commission reaffirmed that annexation of West Bank territory is illegal and jeopardizes any prospects of peace.

Legal and political context

The E1 plan has been frozen for over two decades precisely because of its destructive impact on the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state. The International Court of Justice, in a 2024 ruling, reaffirmed that all settlement activity in the West Bank and East al-Quds is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Rights groups and legal experts describe the E1 expansion as a tool for forced demographic change and a decisive blow to the already embattled "two-state solution."

Despite this, "Israel" moves forward emboldened by decades of US military aid and political cover. Smotrich openly admitted the project was coordinated with Netanyahu and supported by Washington.

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Emerging diplomatic shifts

Some states are now weighing recognition of a Palestinian state as a countermeasure to "Israel’s" unilateral moves. The joint condemnation signals not only mounting frustration in European capitals but also a growing readiness to adopt concrete political steps against settlement entrenchment.

Meanwhile, Palestinians view the E1 plan as an existential threat to their cause. Earlier in the day, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told  RIA Novosti that the plan is destroying the very idea of a Palestinian state and the prospect of a "two-state solution".