Paris, May 6 (SANA) More than 400 former European ministers, ambassadors and senior officials have urged the European Union to take action against Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, warning that continued construction threatens prospects for a Palestinian state.
According to Agence France-Presse, 448 former officials, including former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, signed an open letter calling on the EU and its member states to take immediate steps to deter what they described as Israel’s “illegal annexation” of Palestinian territory, particularly through the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem.
The signatories called for targeted sanctions, including visa bans and trade restrictions, against individuals and entities involved in settlement activity, especially those linked to tenders associated with the E1 project. They said the Israeli government plans to move forward with detailed tenders for the area on June 1.
Israel approved the E1 plan in August last year. The project involves the construction of thousands of settlement units across about 12 square kilometers east of occupied Jerusalem, a move critics say would divide the West Bank and undermine geographic continuity for a future Palestinian state.
The appeal comes as Israel has accelerated settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, approving 54 new settlements in 2025 despite international opposition and longstanding U.N. resolutions that consider the settlements illegal under international law.
R.D/ABD
