The announcement of Israel according to which he illegally build thousands of houses in a very controversial development in occupied West Bank – in a move, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, boasted “buried the idea of a Palestinian State” – aroused a generalized international conviction.
Smotrich announced Thursday that it was advancing with long -term plans for the E1 zone colonization project which would link Jerusalem occupying the East Jerusalem with the existing illegal Israeli colony of Maale Adumim, located several kilometers to the east.
The regulations planned, which has been put aside for years in the middle of the opposition of the United States and European allies, would include more than 3,400 houses for Israeli colonists on land belonging to Palestinians who, according to experts, are vital for any future Palestinian state territorially contiguous in the West Bank.
Smotrich said the development was relaunched in response to the plans of other countries to recognize a Palestinian state.
But the response of the rest of the world was scathing, the governments describing the decision as a blatant violation of international law which would fuel regional instability and would leave the possibility of a solution to two states with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in lamb. Here is an overview of the reactions so far.
Palestine
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said that E1 development in combination with the war in Gaza and the escalation of settlers’ violence, would only climb, tension and instability.
He said he had held the United States responsible for the judgment of the expansionist actions of Israel and noted that the announcement of the regulation had come when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken of his vision of a “great Israel”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, called for international intervention to stop the settlement plans.
He considered the colony E1 “a continuation of the occupation plans to undermine the possibility of establishing the Palestinian state on its homeland, weakening its geographic and demographic unity, strengthening the division of the West Bank in isolated areas surrounded by a sea of colonies and facilitating the completion of their annexation”.
Qatar
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar criticized this decision, claiming that it “reaffirms the unequivocal rejection of Qatar from the policies of the Israeli occupation aimed at extending the colonies and forcibly shifting the Palestinian people, measures to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state”.
Declaration | Qatar condemns the approval by the Israeli Minister of Finance of the Plans of settlement separating East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank#Mofaqatar pic.twitter.com/5bric3dida
– Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@mofaqatar_en) August 14, 2025
Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia has condemned regulation plans “in the strongest possible terms”, saying that they were a violation of international law and a serious threat for the possibility of a two -state solution.
In a statement, he called on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities, to protect the Palestinian people and to fulfill their legitimate rights, including recognition of the Palestinian State”.
Jordan
The Jordan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned this decision in the “strongest terms”. Ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah confirmed “the absolute rejection and conviction of his country and illegal Israeli measures which constitute a blatant violation of international law and resolutions of the International Security Council”.
Qudah warned against the continuous expansionist policy of the Israeli government in the occupied West Bank, which, according to the ministry, “encourages the perpetuation of cycles of violence and conflict in the region”.
Turkiye
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the regulation plan “does not take into account international law and the United Nations resolutions” and “targets the territorial integrity of the Palestine State, the basis of a solution to two states and hopes for lasting peace”.
He reaffirmed Turkiye’s support to an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as capital.
United Kingdom
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said the plan should be stopped.
“The United Kingdom is firmly opposed to the Israeli government E1 regulation plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a blatant violation of international law,” he said in an email to the Reuters news agency in a statement.
The situation in Gaza is appalling and the actions of the Israeli government endangered the solution to two states.
@Anitaanandmp,, @jnbarrot And I discussed the need for an immediate cease-fire, the release of all hostages, a flow of help and a plan to offer lasting peace.– David Lammy (@davidlammy) August 14, 2025
Germany
The German government, a fervent supporter of Israel, urged Israel to “stop the construction of the colonies” and declared that it “strongly rejects” the plan for new development
“The construction of rules violates international law and relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” said a spokesman for the Berlin Foreign Ministry.
“This complicates a solution negotiated with two states and the end of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, as required by the International Court of Justice,” he added.
Spain
The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, described the expansion plan “a new violation of international law”.
“This undermines the viability of the two-state solution, the only way to peace,” he said in an article on social networks.
The United Nations
The United Nations urged Israel to cancel its decision. “This would end the prospects of a two-state solution,” journalists Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, told journalists.
“The regulations go against international law … (and) have further strengthened the occupation.”
European Union
The head of the European Union foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, also criticized the plan as a “violation of international law” which would undergo a solution to two states more.
“If this is implemented, the construction of colonies in this area will permanently reduce the geographic and territorial contiguity between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank and break the link between the North and the South of the West Bank,” said Kallas.
“The EU urges Israel to refrain from making this decision, noting its large -scale implications and the need to consider the action to protect the viability of the two -state solution.”
She called on Israel to fully interrupt her regulation construction, saying that her settlement policy, combined with the violence of the colonists and the ongoing military operations, “fueled an already tense situation on the ground and further eroding any possibility of peace”.
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The Islamic Cooperation Organization (OCI) also denounced the plans, affirming that the Israeli occupation and the expansion of the regulation were illegal under international law, United Nations resolutions and the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, and must end immediately.
The intergovernmental organization has urged the international community to assume responsibility, to hold responsible Israel and to impose sanctions in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
Israeli Human Rights Group
The Israeli plea group Peace has now warned that this decision “guaranteed many years of bloodshed”.
“The E1 plan is fatal for the future of Israel and for any chance of obtaining a peaceful solution to two states,” he said in a statement.
“There is a solution to the Israeli -Palestinian conflict and the terrible war in Gaza – the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel – and that will finally come.”
UNITED STATES
The main allies of Israel, the United States, had no immediate word of criticism for the proposal. Asked about the development of the regulation, a spokesperson for the US State Department said that Washington was concentrated on the end of the war in Gaza and that Hamas would never govern this territory again.
“A stable West Bank maintains Israel in security and complies with the objective of this administration to achieve peace in the region,” said the spokesperson, referring to the Israeli government for more information.
