Egypt warns E1 settlement project threatens Palestinian continuity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa held a telephone consultation to discuss developments in the occupied Palestinian territories. Egypt reaffirmed its full support for the Palestinian Authority, emphasizing the need to empower its national institutions to manage responsibilities in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The discussions covered efforts to implement a roadmap for Gaza, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces, ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid, initiating early recovery and reconstruction, and the deployment of an international stability force. The plan also involves the entry of a national committee to manage Gaza to facilitate a just and comprehensive political solution.

Regarding the West Bank, Abdelatty condemned illegal settlement expansion and rising settler violence. He specifically warned against the E1 settlement project, stating it threatens Palestinian geographic continuity and risks isolating East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings. Egypt reiterated its categorical rejection of any attempts to annex Palestinian lands, displace Palestinians, or alter the legal and demographic status of the occupied territories.