Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 16, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 16, 2025
France calls Israel’s E1 settlement plan ‘a serious violation of international law’
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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference announcing his plans to approve more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim on August 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
PARIS, France — France’s Foreign Ministry calls on Israel to drop a plan to build thousands of new homes in the West Bank, calling the project “a serious violation of international law.”
A ministry spokesman says that France “condemns with the utmost firmness” the Israeli decision to build 3,400 homes in a particularly contentious area of the West Bank.
Several countries have said that the project, called E1, undermines hopes for a contiguous future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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