Turkey on Thursday condemned Israel’s approval of a highly controversial settlement plan in the occupied West Bank, saying the move would cut the territory off from East Jerusalem and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
Israel said Thursday it was moving forward with a project to build more than 3,000 housing units east of Jerusalem, reviving a proposal frozen for decades amid international opposition.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, said the move was intended to “permanently bury the idea of a Palestinian state” and came in response to recent announcements by several countries recognizing Palestinian statehood.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in its statement that the plan for the so-called E1 area “disregards international law and UN resolutions” and “targets the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine … and the hopes for lasting peace.”
The E1 development, located between Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement, is seen by critics as a project that would effectively cut the West Bank off from occupied East Jerusalem, making a viable Palestinian state nearly impossible.
The ministry reiterated Ankara’s support for “an independent, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine on the basis of 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Settlements in occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
The UN and the EU also urged Israel not to move forward with the plan.
The “EU rejects any territorial change that is not part of a political agreement between involved parties,” a spokesman said.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said the proposal must be stopped.
“The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law,” he said, according to BBC.
In recent weeks, a growing number of countries announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months in the wake of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, which Israel has denounced.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the death of 1,206 people and the taking of some 250 hostages.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, the Israeli military has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 142,000 since October 7, 2023.
Two prominent human rights organizations in Israel last month joined a number of international rights organizations, UN human rights experts and scholars in accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel released separate reports based on studies of the past 21 months of conflict, saying Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and that the country’s Western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is also examining a case brought by South Africa alleging that Israeli forces are committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.