Gaza: Vice President of the State of Palestine Hussein al-Sheikh on Thursday welcomed a joint statement by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy rejecting Israel's plan to proceed with the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank and calling on the Israeli government to immediately withdraw it.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Al-Sheikh welcomed the four countries' reaffirmation that Israeli settlements are illegal and their warning of the dangers posed by the E1 project. He stressed that the project's implementation would undermine the geographic contiguity of Palestinian territory and further weaken prospects for a two-state solution.
He emphasized that the European position demonstrates the importance of the international community's role in confronting settlement expansion and protecting the two-state solution. Al-Sheikh expressed hope that this position will translate into practical steps to halt these policies and protect the rights of the Palestinian people.