On August 23, 2025, a chorus of international voices grew louder as the Czech Republic joined more than two dozen countries in condemning Israel’s plans to expand Jewish settlements in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank. The joint statement, coordinated by European governments and echoed by nations such as Canada and Australia, called the Israeli government’s approval of approximately 3,400 new housing units a violation of international law and a direct threat to the prospects for peace in the region, according to Czech media and reporting by Caliber.Az.
At the heart of the controversy lies the E1 settlement project, which envisions a continuous bloc of Jewish settlements linking central parts of the West Bank with Jerusalem. Critics warn that this would sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, effectively splitting Palestinian territories into disconnected northern and southern enclaves—an outcome that could render the creation of a viable Palestinian state nearly impossible. The Israeli planning committee’s approval of 3,401 housing units in E1, and the Higher Planning Council’s final green light for 3,753 units overall, has reignited longstanding debate about the legality and wisdom of such moves.
International condemnation has been swift and widespread. The joint statement signed by 25 foreign ministers, including those from Greece, France, and the United Kingdom, was unequivocal: “We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest terms.” The statement, also backed by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, warned that the settlement expansion “risks undermining security and fuels further violence and instability.” The signatories urged Israel to halt construction in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which reaffirms that Israeli settlements in territories occupied since 1967 “have no legal validity” and pose a major obstacle to peace.
The United Nations and European Union have long supported the establishment of a Palestinian state, a position increasingly echoed by individual countries. In recent weeks, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, further isolating Israel diplomatically over its settlement policy. According to the BBC, most of the international community considers all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a stance reinforced by the recent joint statements.
Within Israel, the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained steadfast in its opposition to Palestinian statehood. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key figure in the Netanyahu coalition, openly celebrated the E1 settlement plan. In remarks reported by The Times of Israel, Smotrich described the construction as “historic” and “a significant step that practically erases the two-state delusion and consolidates the Jewish people’s hold on the heart of the Land of Israel.” He did not mince words: “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not by slogans but by deeds. Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
Palestinian leaders and their supporters see the expansion as a direct assault on their aspirations for statehood. The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry condemned the project, stating it “fragments geographic and demographic unity, entrenching the division of the occupied West Bank into isolated areas and cantons that are disconnected from one another, turning them into something akin to real prisons.” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales also weighed in, calling the decision “illegal under international law” and a denial of Palestinian self-determination as enshrined in Article 1 of the UN Charter. Their statement was clear: “This total disregard for Palestinian self-determination blocks the path to a lasting peace in the region and threatens the safety and dignity of all communities in the Holy Land, not solely the Christians.”
The joint statement was not the only voice of concern. Pavel Fischer, chairman of the Czech Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee, described Israel’s move as “very irresponsible” and cited United Nations resolutions that classify settlement expansion in occupied territories as illegal under international law. Fischer suggested that a Czech representative should visit the Gaza Strip to observe the humanitarian situation firsthand, further underscoring the gravity of the moment. “The sooner the Israeli government stops building settlements in accordance with UN Resolution 2334, the better. Not only for the Palestinians, but also for the state of Israel itself,” Fischer told Czech News Agency.
Ma’ale Adumim, the focal point of much of the construction, is an urban Israeli settlement with over 36,000 residents, located just over four miles from Jerusalem. It was named a city in 1991 and has been a flashpoint in the broader debate over settlement expansion. The latest approvals, after two decades of international opposition and repeated shelving of the plans, threaten to permanently alter the landscape—both geographically and diplomatically.
The broader context is equally fraught. The West Bank is home to nearly 3 million Palestinians and over 500,000 Israeli settlers. Israel has maintained control over the territory since the 1967 Middle East war, and its annexation of East Jerusalem has never been recognized by the international community. Palestinians continue to seek an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital—a vision many argue is slipping further out of reach with each new settlement.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a new nadir. On August 22, 2025, independent experts from the Famine Review Committee officially confirmed that famine conditions (Phase 5 IPC) have been reached in the Gaza governorate, with acute malnutrition affecting at least 15 percent of children. The latest analysis projects that famine could spread across the entire Gaza Strip in the coming weeks unless a full-scale and sustained humanitarian aid program is implemented. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, however, has called the famine report “an outright lie,” insisting that “Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation,” and claiming to have allowed over 2 million tons of aid into Gaza since the start of the war. The U.S. State Department, for its part, described the famine claims as “a false narrative promoted by Hamas.”
Amid these mounting crises, religious and political leaders have called for renewed efforts toward peace. The Bishops of the International Affairs department of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales urged the UK government and the international community to “speak with one voice to oppose further settlement expansion and advocate for a Two-State Solution as the only viable option to bring security and peace to Israelis and Palestinians.” A Muslim member of the British parliament, Shockat Adam, highlighted the influential role of Christian leaders in advocating for peace, describing their leadership as “a really powerful avenue of making change.”
As the international community grapples with the fallout from Israel’s latest settlement decisions and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, the path to a just and lasting peace in the region seems as elusive as ever. Yet, the growing chorus of global voices calling for restraint, dialogue, and respect for international law underscores the enduring hope that a different future remains possible—even if, for now, it feels just out of reach.
