Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on 14 August announced that work will begin on the long-delayed E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem. The plan, first proposed in the 1990s, would link the settlement of Maale Adumim to Jerusalem and, according to human-rights groups, bisect the occupied West Bank in a way that could pre-empt the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the decision violates international law and called on Israel to reverse course, warning that the move "would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution." The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, issued a similar statement, describing the plan as "a breach of international law" and insisting that Israel halt all settlement construction. The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary, the German government and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the project, branding the expansion a "blatant" violation of international norms. The coordinated criticism heightens diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government, which already faces broad international opposition to settlement activity regarded as illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.