Fattouh: Bids for the Construction of 3,401 Settlement Units in E1 Represent a Serious Escalation that Undermines the Two-State Solution

SadaNews - Palestinian National Council President Rooha Fattouh stated that the Israeli occupation authorities' proposal to issue bids for the construction of 3,401 settlement units in the E1 area east of occupied Jerusalem constitutes a very serious escalation, representing a clear transition from the planning phase to the actual implementation phase of a strategic settlement scheme aimed at liquidating the Palestinian presence and undermining the legal and political foundations of any solution based on the two-state principle.

Fattouh added in a statement issued by the National Council on Wednesday that the E1 area is not merely a geographic space; it is a central knot through which the occupation seeks to completely isolate occupied Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, severing the geographical continuity between the northern and southern West Bank. This will effectively dismantle it and turn it into isolated cantons devoid of sovereignty and independence, in severe violation of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

He clarified that these settlement bids represent an act of undeclared annexation, solidifying systematic Judaization policies that aim to alter the legal, demographic, and historical character of occupied Jerusalem, in blatant violation of Security Council resolutions, including Resolutions 2334 and 478, which affirm the illegitimacy of settlement activities, deeming them null and void with no legal consequences.

Fattouh emphasized that what is happening in the E1 area takes place within a broader context of silent ethnic cleansing policies based on land seizure, home demolitions, restricting Palestinian construction, and forcibly pushing residents to leave in exchange for intensive colonial expansion. This rises to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

He stressed that the continued silence of the international community constitutes complicity with these policies, granting the occupation cover to continue imposing colonial facts on the ground that undermine any political horizon and close the door to a just and comprehensive solution based on international law and United Nations resolutions.

Fattouh called on the international community to bear its legal and moral responsibilities and take practical and deterrent measures to halt settlement activities, hold the occupation accountable for its crimes, and protect what remains of the international legal order from collapsing under the logic of power and the imposition of facts on the ground.