On Thursday, 21 countries condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s E1 settlement expansion plan in the West Bank, saying it “is unacceptable and a violation of international law.”
The Israeli Planning and Building Committee has reportedly approved the construction of 126 new housing units in the settlement of Sa-Nur in the Jenin Governorate of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement reported by the newspaper Israel Hayom, the head of the Northern West Bank Settlements Committee said that work is underway to bring the number of Israelis in the West Bank to one million, according to an Al Jazeera Arabic report.
Israel Approves Major Settlement Project Splitting West Bank, Isolating Jerusalem
A few days ago, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, accompanied by settlers, visited the site of the Sa-Nur settlement, which was evacuated 20 years ago, the report stated.
Israeli media reported that Smotrich’s visit to the evacuated Sa-Nur settlement aimed to pave the way for its reconstruction.
During the visit, Smotrich said that Tel Aviv is working to correct mistakes, referring to the 2005 disengagement, following which Israel withdrew from four settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the report noted.
The settlements from which the occupation withdrew in the West Bank were: Sa-Nur, Ganim, Kadim, and Homesh.
Evacuation Orders
Last May, Israel announced the repeal of the so-called Disengagement Law in the northern occupied West Bank, allowing settlers to return to the settlements of Sanur, Ganim, and Kadim, near the cities of Jenin and Nablus, which they had been prohibited from entering since an evacuation order was issued in 2005.
In the #WestBank, 18 Palestinian communities are at heightened displacement risk as the Israeli government advances the E1 settlement plan.
Between 12 and 18 August, we documented 29 Israeli settler attacks resulting in casualties or damage.
Read more: https://t.co/NpvxJy2gIR pic.twitter.com/Eqy5g1hgZz
— OCHA OPT (Palestine) (@ochaopt) August 22, 2025
The approval of the new settlement plans comes days after the approval of the expansion of the E1 settlement plan, which separates the northern West Bank from the south.
Settlement Expansion Strategy
The Israeli E1 plan is located between the settlements of Ma’ale Adumim and Pisgat Ze’ev in Area C under Israeli control, and extends over an area of approximately 12 square kilometers between the towns of Anata, Issawiya, Az-Za’im, Al-Eizariya, and Abu Dis.
E1 Settlement Expansion: Why Europe’s Outrage over Israel’s Plan is Pure Theater
The E1 plan was launched as part of Israel’s efforts to connect the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim to occupied Jerusalem and separate it from its Palestinian surroundings, the report stated.
The plan is part of Israel’s settlement expansion strategy aimed at imposing control over Jerusalem and preventing the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state.
Condemnation
On Thursday, 21 countries condemned “in the strongest terms” Israel’s E1 settlement expansion plan in the West Bank, saying it “is unacceptable and a violation of international law.”
“We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms,” the foreign ministers of these countries, including the UK, Australia, Spain and France, said in a statement.
Joint statement from the UK and 21 international partners on the decision by Israel’s Higher Planning Committee to approve the E1 settlement plan ⬇️
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) August 21, 2025
In a joint statement by their foreign ministers, these countries, including Britain and France, called on Israel to immediately reverse its decision.
They said Smotrich’s statement that the plan would make the two-state solution impossible by dividing the Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian entry to Jerusalem “brings no benefit to the Israeli people” and “fuels further violence and instability.”
Call to Retract Plan
The ministers said Israel still has an opportunity to stop the E1 plan from going any further.
Israeli bulldozers are levelling land and uprooting olive trees in the village of Al-Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah in the central West Bank, in a collective punishment against the entire residents of the village. pic.twitter.com/fnrX3zPWrA
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 22, 2025
“We encourage them to urgently retract this plan,” the statement added. In addition, they said that unilateral action by the Israeli government “undermines our collective desire for security and prosperity” in the Middle East.
The Israeli government “must stop settlement construction in line with UNSC Resolution 2334 and remove their restrictions on the finances of the Palestinian Authority,” the statement added.
Al-Mughayyir Incursion
Israeli occupation forces continued their large-scale incursion into the village of al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, for the second consecutive day on Friday, which included attacks on residents, their properties, and agricultural lands, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The #IOF raids and arrests continue for the second day in #Al-Mughayyir. Hundreds of olive trees, more than a hundred years old, were cut down, and a road was paved around the village to increase the number of settlement outposts around it. #WestBank #Palestine #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/VOJdYrqlZD
— ISM Palestine (@ISMPalestine) August 22, 2025
Amin Abu Aliya, head of the Al-Mughayer Village Council, said the incursion has involved house raids, physical assaults on residents, property vandalism, theft of money and gold jewelry, and the destruction of residents’ vehicles, the report stated.
Abu Aliya added that more than seven young Palestinian men were detained on Friday, including the brothers of 18-year-old Palestinian Hamdan Abu Aliya who was killed by Israeli forces in the village a few days ago. The brothers were subjected to severe beatings in front of their mother, causing the family significant psychological distress, the report added.
(PC, AJA, WAFA)
