London, 2nd December 2025 – Last week, the ‘E4 countries’, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, issued a joint statement on the situation in the occupied West Bank, which falls short of the decisive action required in the face of escalating violations of international law. They expressed “concern” over rising illegal settler violence and the advancement of settlement plans, but their response lacks any meaningful consequences for the Israeli government’s ongoing and systematic breaches of the law.
The scale of settler violence highlights the urgency of action. According to UN-monitored data, October 2025 saw 260 settler attacks across the West Bank, the highest monthly total since records began in 2006. Meanwhile, since October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers. Farmers have been assaulted, vehicles and crops have been lit on fire, and communities are facing displacement. With only one in 20 investigations into settler attacks leading to charges, this violence is taking place under almost total impunity. The widespread practice of extremist settler violence happening under the watchful eye of Israel Defense Forces further demonstrates the air of impunity provided to extremist settlers by the Israeli State.
The complete failure to impose robust measures against those responsible for illegal settlement activity effectively shields perpetrators from accountability. While the joint statement acknowledges the severity of the situation, it avoids confronting the central issue: the expansion of settlements with full state backing, in open defiance of international law, without any real diplomatic or economic repercussions. It is telling that the statement makes no reference to the unlawfulness of Israel’s occupation, as affirmed by the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion in July 2024.
This weakness by the UK government is made clear by Israel’s approval in August 2025 of illegal settler expansion in the E1, authorising more than 3,000 new settlement units. The E1 area has for decades been recognised by the international community as a red line, because construction there would divide the West Bank by obstructing the connection between Ramallah, East Jerusalem, and Bethlehem. Expressions of concern from the UK government are not sufficient to address the threat of this project.
The limited sanctions adopted by the UK and other governments, targeting only a handful of extremist settlers and two high-profile Israeli ministers – Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir – in their personal capacity, are entirely inadequate given the scale of state-approved illegal settlement expansion. It effectively signals that the UK Government is unwilling to properly confront the state structures responsible for entrenching apartheid conditions and the forced displacement of Palestinians.
ICJP’s Public Affairs and Communications Officer Beckie Walker said:
“The UK’s response to Israel’s ongoing settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank is dangerously inadequate. Expressions of concern are not enough when Palestinians continue to face land confiscation and home demolitions, while over 700,000 settlers live illegally across the West Bank with near total impunity.
“More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023. The approval of over 3,000 units in the E1 in August 2025 shows that without robust sanctions, the UK government is effectively allowing illegal settlement expansion to continue with impunity. Immediate, robust measures are required to hold the Israeli government accountable and to protect Palestinians.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
- For more information, or to arrange an interview with an ICJP spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected].
