UK urges halt to E1 settlement project in UN appeal for two-state solution

The UK told the UN Security Council in New York on 28 September that Israel's E1 settlement project should not proceed, warning that it threatened the prospects for a Palestinian state. Deputy Permanent Representative Kate Foster said a possible delay to a housing tender would be insufficient. Her statement also set out intended UK measures on settlement goods and sanctions, and called for greater humanitarian access to Gaza.

Foster described a two-state solution as the only credible path to lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians. She said it was at risk of being destroyed by developments on the ground. The statement was delivered at a Security Council meeting on the West Bank and published by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Why the UK singled out the E1 settlement project

The UK said Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank violated international law and Security Council Resolution 2334. Foster said the E1 project was approaching a point of no return. In the UK's assessment, building there would sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank and endanger the viability of a two-state solution. These are the government's stated legal and diplomatic positions.

Foster welcomed reports that the deadline for E1 bids might be delayed, but said a temporary delay would not address the underlying project. ‘This project must not go ahead,’ she told the council. The statement did not say that the tender had been cancelled or that construction had begun.

The 1,234-home tender and the election dispute

Ma’ale Adumim municipality challenged that advice in the High Court, arguing that the approvals and tender process began before the election campaign. The Jerusalem Post reported that the Israel Land Authority and Construction and Housing Ministry administer the tender and control its timetable. The city's petition sought to keep the original schedule. The court challenge concerned the timing of bids, while separate legal challenges to the underlying building plans remained pending.

The 1,234 homes are part of a larger E1 plan, not the total number of proposed homes. Petra Jordan News Agency reported that an earlier tender was revised to cover 2,167 homes and that, together, the two tenders cover 3,401. The agency attributed its account of the split to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, which said the division did not mean the project had been abandoned.

The Jerusalem Post reported competing views of the development. Critics say building in E1, between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, would disrupt the territorial continuity of a potential Palestinian state and further separate East Jerusalem from other West Bank communities. Supporters say it would allow Ma’ale Adumim to develop and strengthen its connection to Jerusalem. The municipality's court petition does not resolve those wider disputes.

What the UK said it would do on settlements

Foster said the UK and international partners had announced an intention to legislate to ban imports of goods from settlements and introduce sanctions against people who finance, support or facilitate settlements. She presented both as intended measures, rather than laws or sanctions already in force. The statement did not give a timetable for legislation or identify people who would be sanctioned.

The UK also called on Israel to prevent settler violence and ensure accountability for perpetrators. Foster said pardons and decisions not to bring charges against Israeli soldiers who had committed violent crimes sent the opposite message. Her statement offered no case details, so the assertion remains attributed to the UK rather than to an identified court finding in this report.

Gaza aid and Palestinian institutions

Turning to Gaza, Foster said the UK remained committed to Security Council Resolution 2803 and the 20-Point Peace Plan. She said Hamas must decommission its weapons, dismantle its infrastructure and relinquish control of Gaza. The UK had pledged $117 million in humanitarian and early recovery assistance for the year, she said, while warning that aid could not save lives unless it reached people.

Foster urged Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid, stop the killing in Gaza and withdraw. She said a recent call to action on Gaza aid and healthcare, brought forward by the UK foreign secretary with Jordan and Qatar, now needed to produce improvements on the ground. On the West Bank economy, she called for the release of clearance revenues to the Palestinian Authority, predictable banking arrangements and easier movement and trade.

The UK also expressed support for the Palestinian Authority's reform agenda and welcomed its commitment to hold elections. Foster said credible and transparent public institutions were essential to a future Palestinian state. For E1, the immediate question remains whether the bid deadline changes after the legal advice and the municipality's challenge. A delayed deadline would leave the wider building plan in place.