German Chancellor Friedrich Merz described Israel's new West Bank settlement initiative as a 'big mistake' and called on Israel to halt the push, according to sources. ' Merz has also called for a joint European message on the matter. The so-called 'E1 project' was authorized last August and paves the way for 3,400 housing units across a 12-square-kilometre area to the east of Jerusalem, in West Bank territory.
' He also condemned the 'violence perpetrated by radical settlers,' after Palestinian authorities reported that three people were killed in attacks over the weekend. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oversees settlement policy, defended the project last year, saying, 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions. ' Under international law, Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal, but Israel disputes this and maintains that the status should be determined through negotiations.
The project is part of a broader surge in Israeli expansion, which reached its highest level since 2017 following the approval of 19 new settlements in December 2025.