France's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the approval by an Israeli planning commission of a project to build settlements in the E1 area east of Jerusalem is unacceptable and constitutes a violation of international law.
On Wednesday, Israel said that the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, had received the final go-ahead from a Defense Ministry planning commission.
The approval of the E1 project was announced last week by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Restarting the project could further isolate Israel, which has watched some Western allies frustrated by its continuation and planned escalation of the Gaza war announce they may recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
"With E1 we are delivering finally on what has been promised for years," Smotrich, an ultra-nationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition, said in a statement. "The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions."
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the E1 settlement would isolate Palestinian communities living in the area and undermines the possibility of a two-state solution.
A German government spokesperson commenting on the announcement told reporters on Wednesday that settlement construction violates international law and "hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.”
