Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-08-21 · by Al Jazeera Staff
Seven countries, including Canada and several European nations, have issued a joint statement condemning Israeli plans to build over 1,200 housing units in the E1 settlement project, which would split the occupied West Bank in two. The group warned Israel of "legal and reputational consequences" for proceeding with the plan, calling it a violation of Palestinian territorial contiguity. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have also expressed opposition to the plan, citing its threat to peace prospects and Palestinian sovereignty. This condemnation comes amid rising violence in the West Bank, where rights groups warn of mass displacement of Palestinians.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Israel has opened tenders for the construction of 1,200 settlement homes in a strategic area of the occupied West Bank, known as the E1 area. This move has been internationally condemned, with the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway issuing a joint statement calling it "unacceptable" and a violation of Palestinian territorial contiguity.
The development would effectively divide the West Bank in two and isolate East Jerusalem, according to Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement watchdog. This would severely impact the viability of a two-state solution, said UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who condemned Israel's actions as "unacceptable and destructive".
Miliband has threatened to impose new targeted sanctions on Israelis involved in settlement expansion, following Labour's hardening stance towards Israel. The Israeli government is trying to sign contracts with contractors before the elections so that it will be harder for the next government to cancel the construction, according to Peace Now.
Israel has built over 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jews since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, while an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The international community views settlements as illegal under international law, but successive Israeli governments have allowed them to grow.
Written for “Israeli West Bank Settlements” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.70 for article 1818 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-08-31
Israeli plans to build a major new illegal settlement that would cleave the occupied West Bank in two have provoked widespread condemnation from around the world.
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that → build → world
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway called Israel’s opening of construction tenders for more than 1,200 housing units under the E1 settlement project “unacceptable” and in violation of “the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian Territories”.
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Kingdom → issue → Territories
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4Palestinians → condemn → 4Analysis
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government → disown → violence
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The group warned of “legal and reputational consequences” for participants and urged Israel “to retract these plans immediately and end its expansion of settlements in the West Bank”.
“Not only will they take us further from peace, but they further undermine Israel’s international standing
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they → fuel → standing
,” the statement added.
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statement → add → ?
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also expressed its “complete rejection of attempts to entrench the status quo through illegal settlement expansion” and called on the international community to “take serious steps to stop these violations”.
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Ministry → express → violations
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote on social media that the plans “gravely undermine the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian homeland”.
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plans → write → homeland
Israel has abandoned “even the pretence of seeking peace or respecting the will of the international community”, he added.
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he → abandon → community
The United Nations has also condemned the plan.
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Nations → condemn → plan
The UN’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the secretary-general was “deeply alarmed by the reports of new illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank”, including the new tenders.
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general → say → tenders
Israeli settlements and outposts in the occupied territory are illegal under international law, but their development has accelerated since the start of the Israeli government’s genocidal war on Gaza launched in October 2023.
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development → occupy → October
The project, slated to include at least 3,400 units, would connect occupied East Jerusalem to the Maale Adumim settlement area on roughly 12 square kilometres (4.6sq miles) of Palestinian land.
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project → slat → land
The settlement would bisect the West Bank from north to south, cutting off the West Bank’s link to East Jerusalem, which for years Palestinians have cited as the preferred capital of their future state.
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Palestinians → bisect → state
Israel gave final approvals to the E1 plan last August, with hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailing it as “historic”.
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Smotrich → give → it
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he boasted.
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he → erase → actions
At least 21 countries condemned the plans at the time.
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countries → condemn → time
Israel’s decision to move forward with the expansion comes as rights groups warn of the mass displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank amid rising settler attacks and the growth of illegal settlements.
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groups → move → settlements
Research from the UN’s humanitarian body has found that more Palestinians were forcibly displaced by settler attacks, demolitions and evictions in the first four months of 2026 than in all of 2025.
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Palestinians → find → 2025
Dozens of Palestinian communities in the West Bank are now at risk of erasure, Human Rights Watch said in a recent report.
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Watch → say → report
Analysts have linked the scramble for settlements to Israel’s upcoming elections in October.
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Analysts → link → October
