Over 500 former European officials urge EU sanctions over Israel's E1 settlement project

Diplomatic appeal across European capitals

More than 500 former European prime ministers, foreign ministers, and ambassadors published a joint statement on Monday urging the European Union to penalize Israeli settlement expansion. The open letter, titled "Call to Action" and published in French daily Libération and Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, demands concrete measures against the planned E1 settlement in the occupied West Bank. Notable signatories include former French prime ministers Dominique de Villepin and Alain Juppé, former Italian prime minister Massimo D'Alema, former Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme, and former Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven. Two former European Parliament presidents, Josep Borrell and Enrique Barón Crespo, also joined the initiative alongside Portuguese officials including former foreign minister João Gomes Cravinho and former parliament speaker Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues. The signatories argue that European inaction undermines international law and threatens the viability of a two-state framework.

The strategic E1 settlement project

The Israeli government is scheduled to award initial construction contracts in the coming weeks for the E1 project, located between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The development encompasses 3,400 planned housing units across a 12-square-kilometer area, beginning with an initial phase of more than 1,200 residential units. The Israeli government approved the blueprint last year following decades of suspension that had been maintained under sustained pressure from successive United States administrations. Implementing the construction would divide the West Bank into northern and southern sections, severing territorial continuity for Palestinians and impeding movement between key cities such as Ramallah and Bethlehem. On September 27, 2026, an Israeli court ordered a one-month delay on opening the commercial tender to prevent the issue from disrupting national legislative elections scheduled for late October.

Demands for sanctions and trade restrictions

The signatories called directly on the European Commission to present legislative proposals targeting the financial and commercial apparatus supporting the settlement network. They specifically requested punitive measures against all financial institutions and service providers assisting the development of E1 and other unauthorized West Bank outposts. The letter also insists that Brussels enforce a comprehensive prohibition on European Union trade with Israeli settlements. In addition, the former diplomats urged European authorities to implement previously proposed measures to suspend the commercial provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Despite the drastic consequences of this new annexation of territory, the EU has not taken any measures to halt the E1 project or, more generally, fulfilled its obligations under EU treaties and its duty to act against violations of international law.

Divisions across European Union member states

The appeal reveals persistent internal friction within the 27-member bloc over its Middle East policy. On September 8, 2026, twelve European governments issued a joint declaration condemning the E1 plan and announced unilateral trade restrictions on goods originating from settlements in the occupied West Bank. However, the signatories criticized other member countries, singling out Germany and Italy for systematically blocking collective European action and weakening union principles. The appeal calls for decisive votes during the upcoming meeting of European Union foreign ministers scheduled for October 12, 2026. The signatories pointed to worsening regional stability, noting that 1,400 Palestinians, including 200 children, were killed in Gaza during the year following the October 11, 2025 ceasefire, bringing total Palestinian fatalities there to 74,000 since October 7, 2023.