Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement calling on President Trump to intervene against the Netanyahu government’s decision to advance plans for settlement construction in the E1 area of the West Bank:

“I am extremely concerned by the Netanyahu government’s decision to open tenders for more than 1,200 housing units under the E1 settlement plan in the West Bank. International law is clear that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. For decades, U.S. administrations of both parties have recognized the uniquely dangerous consequences of construction in this area because it would further fragment the West Bank, separate East Jerusalem from Palestinian population centers, and severely undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state.

"Palestinians deserve the right to a viable state of their own. Israelis deserve lasting security and a future free of endless conflict. Actions that make a negotiated two-state solution increasingly impossible do not advance either of those goals. They instead risk entrenching permanent conflict, isolating Israel internationally, eroding support for Israel in the United States, and closing the door on a negotiated two-state solution.

"President Trump must make clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that the United States will not stand by while E1 moves forward and should demand that these plans be halted immediately and that no further steps toward construction are taken."

###