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Friday, January 9, 2026
Germany calls on Israel to halt E1 West Bank settlement plan
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Germany calls on Israel to halt its controversial E1 West Bank settlement project, says a German foreign ministry spokesperson in Berlin, warning that construction in the area carries the risk of creating more instability in the West Bank and the region.
“The plans for the E1 settlement project, it must be said, are part of a comprehensive intensification of settlement policy in the West Bank, which we have recently observed,” said the spokesperson at a regular government press conference.
“It carries the risk of creating even more instability, as it would further restrict the mobility of the Palestinian population in the West Bank,” as well as jeopardize the prospects of a two-state solution, the spokesperson added.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has championed the construction in E1, has likewise said that the settlement expansion plans he is pursuing across the West Bank are meant to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.