Israels move to advance construction in the strategically significant E1 area between Maale Adumim on the West Bank and Jerusalem has triggered growing backlash, with Britain announcing sanctions and 11 other countries threatening or considering trade restrictions on Jewish communities in the disputed area.
The Netanyahu government last month announced tenders for the first 1,400 of roughly 3,400 housing units in E1, a 4.6-square-mile area that would expand the built-up connection between Maale Adumim, a city of about 40,000 people in the Judean Desert, and the Israeli capital.
European governments have strongly opposed the move, with Britains left-wing ruling party announcing sanctions Tuesday.
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U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a ban on products from Judea and Samaria, saying the government in London “believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationship we choose to have with the occupied territories.”
The foreign ministers of 11 additional countries â Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden â said Tuesday in a joint statement they intend to impose or are actively considering trade restrictions on goods from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Doron Spielman, international spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office, told Fox News Digital the E1 project has been underway for years and is located in Area C of the West Bank, which, according to the Oslo Accords, is under full Israeli security and civilian control.
“The Israeli government believes E1 is the natural extension of the area of Maale Adumim, which is an area where Jews live freely within 3 miles of our biblical capital, Jerusalem. I dont understand why the world is so focused on a hilltop in the middle of Judea, which is the biblical national homeland of the Jewish people,” he said.
Spielman stressed that “at no point in time, in any agreement that Israel ever made, was E1 ever slated to become part of a Palestinian state.”
“E1 doesnt affect Palestinian freedom of movement; thats a myth. … Palestinian propaganda is trying to create an international issue about something that is very basic regarding Jews living in their homeland,” he added.
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While not explicitly commenting on E1, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, as President Donald Trump has made clear, the United States does not support the annexation of the West Bank.
“Such actions could be counterproductive to the presidents comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza and undermine our broader efforts to achieve regional peace and stability,” the spokesperson said.
Ashraf al-Ajrami, a former Palestinian Authority minister of Prisoners Affairs, told Fox News Digital there is no scenario in which the Palestinian Authority would agree to construction in E1.
“The whole international community refutes this plan because they understand the objective of it. Its not a plan that helps settlers to grow; its a plan to destroy the hope of having a two-state solution. It is the opposite of the Palestinian national rights of self-determination and statehood,” he said.
“The Israeli government has ignored all the ultimatums from the European Union and even the objections from th
