The Muslim Council of Elders issued a statement condemning the announcement by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approving the construction of 3400 new settlement units in the West Bank and areas surrounding Jerusalem. Chaired by Dr Ahmed Al-Tayeb the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar the council described these actions as provocative and escalatory. It argued that the decision contravenes United Nations charters international laws and Security Council resolutions while undermining efforts to achieve peace. The council reiterated its urgent call to the international community to address violations against the Palestinian people halt aggression in the Gaza Strip and oppose policies of starvation and forced displacement.
The statement upheld the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. This position from the council chaired by Al-Tayeb reflects ongoing concerns about settlement expansion in occupied territories. Such condemnations have echoed across multiple regional bodies in response to the latest developments.
The E1 plan covers approximately 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem and seeks to link the illegal Maale Adumim settlement with Jerusalem according to monitoring organizations that track West Bank developments. This would sever the northern West Bank from the southern part and isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory. Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law a determination repeated in numerous United Nations resolutions over the years.
Foreign ministers from Jordan the United Arab Emirates Indonesia Pakistan Turkey Saudi Arabia Qatar and Egypt condemned the E1 settlement plan in a joint statement describing it as a dangerous escalation that advances settlement expansion and annexation. The ministers warned that the project undermines the geographical contiguity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory particularly between the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Their statement highlighted threats to the viability of an independent contiguous Palestinian state based on 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital and referenced international peace initiatives including a comprehensive plan from the current U.S. administration.
The Muslim World League separately condemned the plan in a statement with Secretary-General Sheikh Mohammed al-Issa denouncing the settlement policies as violations of international laws that undermine all peace efforts. Al-Issa called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and immediately stop all settlement activities that alter the geographic and demographic character of the occupied territories. This condemnation followed the issuance of tenders for more than 1200 housing units as part of the E1 project despite prior warnings from European nations including France Germany Britain and Italy.
