The building of Jewish settlements on the land would split the West Bank in two, making a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
It would also separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as their capital.
In the statement, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt, expressed their “complete rejection” of the E1 settlement plan and called for it to be immediately halted.
“This threatens the viability of an independent, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” they added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the time that they posed an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.
RIYADH: Israeli plans to build settlement homes on a highly sensitive area of the occupied West Bank threaten the viability of a Palestinian state, Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Muslim countries warned on Friday.
Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing issued a tender on Tuesday for the construction of more than 1,200 housing units in the E1 area east of Jerusalem.
The building of Jewish settlements on the land would split the West Bank in two, making a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
It would also separate the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as their capital.
In the statement, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkiye, Qatar and Egypt, expressed their “complete rejection” of the E1 settlement plan and called for it to be immediately halted.
The project “represents a dangerous escalation that will further settlement expansion and annexation, and undermine the territorial contiguity of the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the ministers said.
“This threatens the viability of an independent, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” they added.
The overall plans for the E1 area, which include building 3,400 homes on the 12-square-kilometer piece of land, were approved by Israel last year.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the time that they posed an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.
The issuing of the tender this week for 1,234 of those homes has also been condemned by European countries, Palestinian officials and Israeli rights groups.
The statement from Arab and Muslim countries said the plan directly challenged US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive peace plan for Palestine and Israel set in motion last year to end the Gaza war.
“They also challenge President Trump’s unwavering commitment to preventing the annexation of the West Bank in order to achieve stability and end the conflict,” the statement said.
The statement “unequivocal condemned” Israel’s other illegal settlement policies in the territory, along with violence carried out by settlers against Palestinians and their property.
The ministers also called for international sanctions against entities and individuals responsible for illegal settlement activities and those providing support and funding for them.
