More than 400 former European ministers, ambassadors, and officials called on EU leaders in an open letter on Wednesday for "immediate action" to stop what they described as Israel's "illegal annexation" in the occupied West Bank through the "E1" project, which plans for the construction of thousands of housing units.
اضافة اعلان
According to the German Press Agency (dpa), the letter was signed by 448 prominent European figures, including former EU High Representative Josep Borrell and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
The signatories emphasized that "the European Union and its member states, in cooperation with their partners, are required to take urgent steps to deter Israel from continuing the illegal annexation of Palestinian lands in the West Bank."
In August 2025, Israel approved the "E1" project, which is expected to bisect the West Bank into two separate parts, posing a direct threat to the territorial contiguity of any future Palestinian state.
In a related development, Israel issued a tender in December of the same year for the construction of approximately 3,400 housing units covering an area of about 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem. The signatories stressed that "the Israeli government intends to issue detailed development tenders for the project area on June 1," calling for swift EU action, particularly during the Foreign Affairs Council meeting scheduled for May 11.
At a minimum, the signatories demanded targeted sanctions, including visa bans on all individuals involved in settlement activities and barring them from business activities within the EU—specifically targeting those who support, participate in tenders for, or implement the E1 project plan.
The pace of settlement expansion has accelerated significantly under the current Israeli government, which approved the construction of 54 settlements during 2025—a record high according to the "Peace Now" organization. Since taking office in 2022, the government has approved more than 100 settlements.
