Lina Altawell
21 August 2026•Update: 21 August 2026
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said on Friday that not only the controversial E1 settlement plan but Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories itself “must end,” urging states to cut trade with Tel Aviv.
In a post on US social media platform X, Albanese said the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) 2024 advisory opinion made clear that “it’s the occupation itself — not just the E1 plans — that must end.”
Albanese criticized continued Israeli attacks and occupier violence in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, saying Israeli soldiers and occupiers cut water pipes in the West Bank while the siege of Qusra continued.
“In Gaza the pulverization continues and so the massacres,” she said.
“Since the ceasefire Israel has killed 1,200+ people, including 300 children,” she added.
Albanese described the situation as “59 years of predatory occupation” and “1,049 days of genocide,” criticizing international inaction and the absence of sanctions.
The remarks came in response to a joint statement by the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada, who called Israel’s decision to publish construction tenders for the E1 settlement project “unacceptable” and urged Israel to retract the plans immediately.
Israeli rights groups Ir Amim, Bimkom and Peace Now said Israel reneged on its commitment regarding the E1 settlement project in occupied East Jerusalem by issuing a tender for the construction of 1,234 settlement units without prior notice to petitioners challenging the project.
The E1 plan covers roughly 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles) east of Jerusalem and seeks to link the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim with Jerusalem through the construction of Israeli housing on Palestinian land.
Critics say that by dividing the West Bank, the project seeks to make a two-state solution impossible.
According to the latest figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement since October 2025 have killed at least 1,283 Palestinians and injured 4,248 others.
The US-endorsed agreement was reached to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, but Israel has continued it in multiple forms.
