Israel triples size of key West Bank settlement, testing von der Leyen’s ‘unacceptable’ rebuke

Israel is to almost triple the size of its catastrophic E1 settlement in the West Bank, Haaretz has reported, one day after the European Commission president called the original plan “unacceptable”. E1, which is strategically designed to end the two-state solution by cutting the West Bank in half, was first due to have 1,234 houses, but will now have 3,401, according to information highlighted by Israeli rights group Ir Amim late on Wednesday (16 September). The move was designed to “create an increasingly irreversible reality on the ground ahead of the elections [in Israel on 27 October]”, the group said. Israeli authorities had quietly posted the E1-upgrade information on an obscure official website on 6 September, without attracting domestic or foreign attention. And Ir Amim’s revelation came the same day European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen condemned the original, smaller scheme in her State of the Union speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “The deep suffering in Gaza and unchecked settler violence in the West Bank have deeply affected Europeans. The Israeli government’s decision to advance the illegal E1 settlement project is unacceptable,” she said. There would be no EU ban on imports from illegal settlers, however, because there was no majority among member states to go ahead, she added. But von der Leyen, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, has not tabled any proposal on the subject for member states to discuss, giving her a share of the blame, leftwing MEPs said. Von der Leyen's spokespeople did not reply in time for publication when asked by EUobserver on Thursday if news of the enlarged E1 would see her propose punitive measures, or if the EU would issue a new statement condemning the E1 expansion. Claudio Francavilla, from the Human Rights Watch NGO, said: “What’s the point of von der Leyen condemning Israel’s illegal settlements while she refuses to ban EU trade fuelling their economy?". "Decades of toothless EU concerns have done nothing to contain Israel’s ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Her speech [on Wednesday] is just another addition to the pile," he said. Meanwhile, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz further embarrassed friends of Israel in Europe also on the day of von der Leyen's speech.