With multiple governments preparing to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Israel is moving toward final approval of the long-stalled E1 settlement plan as soon as next week—an expansion critics say would further split the West Bank and sever East Jerusalem from its Palestinian hinterland, according to Israeli media reports. Haaretz reported that objections to the plan were rejected last week, clearing the path for authorization by the Civil Administration’s Supreme Planning Council. At the same time, The Jerusalem Post said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced his approval of the project and vowed it would be the “final nail in the coffin” for Palestinian statehood.
The E1 blueprint would add more than 3,400 housing units to Ma’aleh Adumim, deepening its connection to Jerusalem and creating a continuous settlement bloc through a strategic corridor widely viewed as pivotal to the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Haaretz reported that two sub-plans, totaling 3,412 units, would effectively cut the northern West Bank off from its southern regions. The Jerusalem Post, in contrast, reported 3,401 units and noted that the move would split East Jerusalem from the West Bank. The project has been frozen for years under international pressure and U.S. objections over its implications for a two-state outcome.
Smotrich, speaking in Ma’aleh Adumim, framed the push as a deliberate response to looming diplomatic moves to recognize Palestine, vowing to answer international declarations “not through documents… but through facts” on the ground—“homes, neighborhoods, roads and Jewish families,” as he put it. “They’ll keep talking about a Palestinian dream—we will continue building a Jewish reality,” he said, calling the plan part of a broader drive for de facto sovereignty in the West Bank and thanking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for enabling settlement advances over the past two and a half years, according to Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post.
Even as Smotrich claimed approval, Ynet cautioned—via The Jerusalem Post—that there has been no formal confirmation and that previous high-profile housing plans have languished for years. Haaretz reported that the planning process restarted last month for the first time since 2021, with an objections hearing held last week that rejected all challenges. Once the council gives final signoff, the state can issue tenders and building permits, after which construction can begin. Earlier this year, Israel’s security cabinet approved a separate road to reroute Palestinian traffic south of E1, a step critics say enables the plan and entrenches the de facto annexation of Ma’aleh Adumim.
Settlement leaders cheered the move. Yesha Council Chairman Israel Ganz called it a “historic achievement,” and Ma’aleh Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach said the project would counter what he described as illegal Palestinian construction, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Rights groups and Palestinian officials warned of far-reaching consequences. Peace Now has labeled E1 a “death blow” to a two-state solution, arguing the area is the last significant land reserve between Ramallah, East Jerusalem, and Bethlehem—home to roughly one million Palestinians—and that building there would foreclose a capital in East Jerusalem by creating an uninterrupted settlement corridor into Jerusalem. Ir Amim and the Association for Environmental Justice joined in opposing the plan, according to Haaretz.
The timing intensifies diplomatic friction. Haaretz reported that France plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN in September, with the UK indicating it could follow suit if Israel takes significant steps. Australia and Malta have also signaled their recognition, while Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Portugal, Andorra, and San Marino are considering similar moves. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry accused Israel of trying to seize land and alter the geographic reality in violation of international law, reiterating support for a two-state solution. A Palestinian Authority spokesperson warned the move would escalate tensions and blamed both Israel and the United States for entrenching a reality contrary to international legitimacy. Hamas called the plan a “dangerous criminal step” aimed at isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings, according to Haaretz.
The E1 initiative dates to the early 1990s. Israel refrained from building there for years because of international pressure—The Jerusalem Post notes a freeze since 2012, while Haaretz says plans have been effectively on hold since 2005. Smotrich has cast the current effort as the culmination of a policy shift that began with the formation of the current government, calling E1 a cornerstone of a broader campaign to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state” by establishing irreversible facts on the ground.
Photo: generated by the Gemini AI.