Israel Publishes E1 Settlement Tender, Critics Say It Ends Two-State Solution

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the tender "unacceptable" in a post on X, noting the EU had "long opposed this step." France, Germany, Britain and Italy had already condemned the project as jeopardizing the two-state solution. An Israeli television channel reported Thursday that the EU was preparing sanctions if construction breaks ground, the Times of Israel said.

"Our message is clear: There must be no further steps toward annexation in the West Bank," said Sebastian Hille, spokesman for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "No formal ones, but also no political, structural, or other measures whose impact is increasingly and obviously leading toward annexation. They run counter to a two-state solution."

In a joint statement Thursday, leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Norway, Canada and the Netherlands warned that the decision comes "at a time of grave instability in the West Bank with unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians, and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy." The European Commission, Greece, Austria, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden signed on Friday.

Foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE also issued a joint statement Friday, calling the project a "dangerous escalation" and urging immediate action to halt it. "The ministers call for immediate action to halt the 'E1' settlement plan, rescind all measures taken in connection with it, and cease all settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory," they said.