Israel Advances E1 Settlement Plan, Drawing International Condemnation

Israel’s government has moved forward with a long-delayed, internationally condemned settlement plan critics say could permanently split the West Bank and end hopes for a future Palestinian state.

Israel’s Housing Ministry has opened bidding for more than 1,200 housing units in the E1 area near Jerusalem, connecting Jewish settlements from East Jerusalem into the West Bank. The plan would cut the West Bank into northern and southern halves, making a contiguous Palestinian state effectively impossible while separating East Jerusalem, the intended capital of such a state, from the rest of Palestinian territory.

Bids are due one week before Israel’s October elections. Settlement watchdog Peace Now called the timing a last-minute move tied to the outgoing government’s final actions in office.

Israel had avoided construction in E1 for roughly two decades under international pressure, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has sharply accelerated settlement approvals, even as Western nations sanction individuals tied to the settler movement. In May, Canada, Australia, and Germany warned companies against involvement in E1 construction. This week, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK reaffirmed that warning, citing record settler violence and mounting restrictions on the Palestinian economy.

Israel gave final approval to E1 last year, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying the Palestinian state was being eliminated through action, not rhetoric.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called the move unacceptable and signaled possible sanctions. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar dismissed the criticism, saying Britain has no standing to weigh in on where Jewish people may live in their historic homeland.

Most of the international community and the UN consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal, though informal outposts have repeatedly gone on to receive official approval. Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the decision dangerous, while Egypt condemned it as an attempt to entrench illegal settlement expansion and undermine any realistic path to a two-state solution.

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