Luxon’s one-sided condemnation of Israel’s E1 plan
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has entered the Middle East debate by condemning Israel’s proposed E1 development between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, calling it “illegal” and claiming it would “make a two-state solution impossible.”
NZ Prime Minister Chris Luxon
Twenty-seven countries — including Australia — co-signed a joint statement criticising the plan. New Zealand was not among the signatories, but Luxon told media he “fully agreed with the statement” and reaffirmed his government’s long-held view that “those settlements are illegal.” He further announced that New Zealand will decide within a month whether to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
A selective interpretation of law
Luxon’s remarks repeat a familiar line: that Israeli housing projects in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are “illegal under international law.” This assertion is contested. The territories in question were never under Palestinian sovereignty, having been occupied by Jordan from 1948–67 without international recognition. The 1922 League of Nations Mandate, still legally relevant under uti possidetis juris, affirmed the right of Jews to settle in the land west of the Jordan River.
To dismiss Jewish building as “illegal” while ignoring this context is not impartial diplomacy — it is adopting one side’s narrative wholesale.
The two-state solution mantra
Critics of E1 argue that the plan would bisect a future Palestinian state and deny Palestinians access to Jerusalem. Yet every serious peace proposal over the past three decades — Oslo, Camp David, Olmert, Kerry — has collapsed not because of Israeli construction, but because Palestinian leaders rejected statehood offers rather than accept Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
Infrastructure solutions have long been proposed to ensure territorial contiguity for Palestinians, including highways and tunnels. The claim that E1 “kills” a two-state solution is political rhetoric, not geopolitical reality.
Security, not obstruction
The E1 corridor is strategically vital for Israel. It secures the link between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley, preventing the capital from being cut off in any future conflict. For a nation surrounded by hostile actors, maintaining defensible borders is not an abstract principle — it is a matter of survival.
A troubling signal from Wellington
New Zealand’s posture risks emboldening rejectionism rather than fostering peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state — particularly one fractured between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah — would reward unilateralism, not compromise.
At a time when Israelis are still reeling from Hamas’s October 7 atrocities, Luxon’s decision to highlight Jewish home-building while remaining silent on Palestinian incitement and terrorism sends the wrong signal to both communities.
Conclusion
Balanced foreign policy requires more than repeating international talking points. By condemning Israel while floating recognition of Palestine, the Luxon government risks alienating New Zealand’s Jewish community, undermining Israel’s security, and rewarding those who have consistently said “no” to peace.
Peace will not come from press releases in Wellington, London, or Canberra. It will come when Palestinian leaders abandon rejectionism and accept Israel’s right to exist alongside them. Until then, blaming Jewish housing projects is a dangerous distraction.
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The two-state solution in Israel is about as intelligently discernible as pink pigs flying. Sez a lot for Chris Luzon, friends and others who still project a hostile Arabic nation living within Israel, a country about 4.5 times smaller than New Zealand. How about you leaders and Co concentrate on the problems within our own countries; Israel is sorting through theirs without your outdated and negative input!
Luxon and friends couldn’t find E1 or Ma’ale Adumim on a map if they were asked. Repeating discredited and legally dubious slogans is about as intelligent as it gets in Wellington.