Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n The Palestinians and much of the international community hold Israeli settlements to be illegal and argue that they harm the chances of the Palestinians establishing a viable state in the West Bank.<\/p>\n A controversial project<\/p>\n The E1 project is especially contentious because it runs from the outskirts of Jerusalem deep into the West Bank. Critics say it would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.<\/p>\n \t Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees settlement policy, has long pushed for the plan to become a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,\u201d he said in August<\/a>, when Israel gave final approval to the plan. \u201cEvery settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.\u201d<\/p>\n The tender, publicly accessible on the website for Israel\u2019s Land Authority, calls for proposals to develop 3,401 housing units. Peace Now said the publication of the tender \u201creflects an accelerated effort to advance construction in E1.<\/p>\n Construction of a new neighborhood for the Ma\u2019ale Adumim settlement in the so-called E1 zone has long been cause for alarm in the international community. It would divide the West Bank into northern and southern regions and prevent the development of a Palestinian metropolis that connects East Jerusalem to Bethlehem and Ramallah, which the Palestinians have long hoped would serve as the foundation of their future state.<\/p>\n Smotrich has driven forward the planning and approval process for large numbers of new housing units in the settlements, as well as the large-scale appropriation of land for the construction of new settlements and settlement infrastructure, and the retroactive legalization of what were formerly illegal settlement outposts under Israeli law.<\/p>\n \t Smotrich, who has advanced these processes as a minister in the Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian affairs in the West Bank, has stated that these and other efforts are designed to de facto annex the territory and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n Tenders are published for construction companies to bid on contracts for the construction of housing units and other projects in the West Bank after the planning and approval have been completed.<\/p>\n This means that, barring some form of political intervention, the construction has already been approved and will go ahead once the tenders are awarded, which can typically take one to two years.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference announcing his plans to approve more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 West Bank settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma\u2019ale Adumim on August 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20240229__34KF2J3__v1__HighRes__IsraelPalestinianConflictSettlement-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA construction site in the West Bank settlement of Ma\u2019ale Adumim on February 29, 2024. (Menahem Kahana\/AFP)<\/p>\n
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