According to the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post, ministers of eight countries—Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt—issued a joint statement on August 21 condemning Israel's efforts to advance the “E1 Area” settlement plan in the West Bank.
The statement stated: "The E1 settlement plan constitutes a dangerous escalation of the situation, further accelerating the process of settlement expansion and annexation. It undermines the geographical continuity of the Palestinian occupied territory, especially between the West Bank and East Jerusalem."
Eight foreign countries' leaders urged "immediate action" to halt the plan, calling for "the repeal of all measures related to it and the suspension of all settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the demographic and geographical features of Palestinian territory occupied by Israel."
The statement also calls on the United Nations Security Council and other international actors to “fulfill their responsibilities under international law, take urgent and effective measures to prevent the expansion of illegal settlements, ensure the protection of the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights (including the right to self-determination), and achieve the goal of independent statehood in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.”
Meanwhile, these countries condemned the recent violent attacks launched by Israeli extremist settlers on the West Bank, and pointed out that such attacks took place with the support of the Israeli government.
On the 18th, the Israeli government issued a tender announcement for the construction of 1234 housing units in the “E1 Area”. In August 2025, Israel’s Finance Minister Mosertikh announced that he planned to approve the construction of 3401 housing units in the “E1 Area”, with the intention of “destroying the concept of a Palestinian state”. Subsequently, the Senior Planning Committee of the Civil Administration Department under the Ministry of Defense approved this housing construction plan.
Just one day before the statement by the Foreign Ministers of eight countries was released (on August 20), Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Canada also issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s plans to build settlements in the “E1 zone” and urging the Israeli government to withdraw those plans immediately.
Furthermore, the US Department of State spokesperson announced on the 21st that the US government "does not support annexation," and pointed out that US President Trump "has explicitly stated his stance."
According to United Nations statistics, as of mid-July, at least 1111 Palestinians (including at least 243 children) have died in incidents attributed to radical settlers or military invasions in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
