The European Council has demanded that Israel immediately reverse its decisions to expand settlements in the West Bank and withdraw the construction tender in the E1 area, warning companies and financial institutions against taking part in the project or any other settlement projects.
The Council affirmed that the participation of companies and financial institutions in these projects could expose them to legal, economic and commercial consequences, in addition to violating international law.
It stressed that the E1 project, extending from the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, would undermine geographical contiguity between the cities of Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and impede the establishment of an independent and geographically contiguous Palestinian state.
