The European Union is preparing a package of sanctions against Israel if construction proceeds in the contested E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, following a joint condemnation by seven Western nations.
Channel 13 News reported that two Western diplomats confirmed the EU has drawn up a list of potential measures, with the United States said to be not opposed to the steps under consideration. The reported measures could include labeling Israeli products, reducing academic cooperation, and suspending certain security and diplomatic partnerships.
Seven-Nation Joint Statement
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway issued a joint statement calling the E1 construction plans “unacceptable” and urging Israel to withdraw them immediately. The statement said the E1 settlement would “undermine the prospect of the two-state solution by driving a wedge through the West Bank and harming the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian Territories.”
The condemnation came after the Israeli government issued a tender on Tuesday for seven residential compounds containing 1,234 housing units in E1, part of roughly 3,400 homes approved for the area last August. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the E1 project will bury the idea of a Palestinian state.
UK Leads Diplomatic Push
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband criticized the tender as “an unacceptable and destructive act” and said Israel must halt E1 plans immediately. Miliband said Britain’s Foreign Office had summoned Israel’s Chargé d’Affaires and that the UK was preparing additional measures in response.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected the demands, writing on social media that he rejected “outright the statement of the UK Foreign Secretary and the patronizing tone of his words.” Sa’ar invoked the Balfour Declaration and accused Britain of hypocrisy over its criticism of Israeli construction.
EU Enforcement Mechanisms
The potential EU measures would represent a significant escalation in the bloc’s response to Israeli settlement expansion. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said he has pushed for sanctions not only on those responsible for settlement violence but also on entities, companies, and organizations in Israel involved in settlement construction.
More than 400 former European ministers, ambassadors, and officials had sent an open letter to EU leaders in May urging immediate action against the E1 project. The signatories included former EU Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
The joint statement warned that continued construction would further damage prospects for peace and Israel’s international standing, reiterating that settlements in occupied territories violate international law under longstanding UN Security Council positions.
Sources: Israel National News; The Guardian; Channel 13 News; AFP; Reuters
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