Key facts
- Israel has published a tender for 3,401 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement area.
- The E1 project is located between occupied East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.
- Critics warn that construction in E1 would effectively divide the West Bank and hinder a future Palestinian state.
- The Palestinian Authority has condemned the plans, calling them illegal and a threat to the two-state solution.
- The Israeli government has accelerated efforts to advance construction in E1, despite international opposition.
The Palestinian Authority has issued a strong warning against Israel's advancement of plans to construct over 3,400 settlement units in the E1 area, a move widely seen as detrimental to the prospects of a two-state solution.
The Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing published a tender for 3,401 housing units in E1, a location situated between occupied East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement. Critics, including past US administrations and European governments, have long cautioned that construction in E1 would effectively bisect the West Bank, severing East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory and preventing the development of a contiguous Palestinian state.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who unveiled the plans, stated that the idea of a Palestinian state is being "erased" through such actions. He urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank. Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, condemned the government's actions as "political recklessness" that undermines any prospect for peace and leads to a one-state reality, potentially in the form of an apartheid regime.
The Palestinian Authority's Cabinet called for effective international pressure to halt what it described as Israeli aggression and to accelerate relief efforts in Gaza. The PLO's Negotiations Affairs Department recommended practical steps to stop all new construction, prevent land confiscation, and support Palestinian communities facing displacement. They also called for UN Security Council members to issue a unified warning against construction in E1.
Plans for settlement expansion in E1 have faced international opposition for decades, with successive Israeli governments advancing the project. The current acceleration follows the approval of plans by the Civil Administration's Higher Planning Council and comes amid a record number of housing tenders published in settlements in 2025.