More than 440 former European ministers, ambassadors and senior officials have called on EU leaders to take immediate action against Israel’s planned settlement expansion in the E1 area of the West Bank.
In a statement dated May 6, 2026, the group said the EU and its member states, together with partners, must deter Israel from advancing what they described as the illegal annexation of Palestinian land through a major new settlement bloc.
Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, a former foreign minister, is the sole signatory from Cyprus.
The statement said Israel intends to publish an initial tender on June 1 for 3,401 residential units in E1, providing housing for up to 15,000 settlers.
The former officials said the plan would bisect the West Bank, damage the territorial contiguity of Palestine and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.
They called on the EU to act, including at the Foreign Affairs Council on May 11, and said any initial response should include targeted sanctions. These should include visa bans and restrictions on doing business in the EU for those involved in illegal settlement activity, particularly those promoting, tendering for or implementing the E1 plan, the statement said.
The signatories said those covered should include politicians, settler leaders, the Israeli Land Authority, local authority representatives, planners, lawyers, architects, engineers, developers, contractors, banks and other financing institutions.
“There is no longer room for hesitation and ambiguity,” the statement said. “The E1 red line is about to be crossed.”
According to the statement, developers and contractors would have until July 6 to submit bids for the first phase, with construction contracts to be awarded afterwards.
It said later phases would cover the remaining 83% of the E1 area, while plans for a commercial and employment zone and the removal of Bedouin communities from the area were also being finalised.
The statement cited the International Court of Justice’s 2024 declaration that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is illegal and must end. It also said European leaders had repeatedly condemned the E1 plans and urged Israel not to proceed.
The group said its May 6 statement followed seven earlier statements issued since July 2025 on actions the EU and its member states should take in response to the situation in Palestine, including Gaza and settlement expansion in the West Bank.
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