Jerusalem: Israel has granted final approval for a highly contentious settlement project in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, a move critics say could effectively sever the territory from East Jerusalem and undermine the prospects of a contiguous Palestinian state.
The Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Council, operating under Israel’s defence ministry, approved construction of 3,401 homes in E1, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.
In a related decision, 342 housing units were authorised in the settlement of Asael, a former outpost in the southern West Bank that was recently legalised under Israeli law.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who oversees the Civil Administration and unveiled the plan last week, stated that the expansion signals the erasure of a Palestinian state. “Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,” he said, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to formally annex the West Bank.
E1 Israeli Settlement Plan: A Colonial Scheme to Expand the Borders of East Jerusalem
🔗 https://t.co/dML6Xin5DA pic.twitter.com/XRHYibGOLt
— PM of Palestine (@PalestinePMO) August 20, 2025
The Palestinian Authority (PA) condemned the approval as illegal and said it would destroy prospects for a two-state solution. According to the PA, the E1 project would fragment the West Bank into disconnected enclaves and isolate East Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings.
Israeli watchdog group Peace Now warned that the E1 plan aims to sabotage political solutions and move toward what it described as a binational apartheid state.
International leaders and organisations also voiced opposition. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the reversal of the decision, while UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned it would divide a future Palestinian state, breach international law, and critically undermine the two-state solution.
King Abdullah II of Jordan reaffirmed that the two-state solution is the only path to just and comprehensive peace, and Germany’s government described settlement expansion as violating international law and hindering negotiations.
The UK condemns the decision by Israel’s Higher Planning Committee today to approve the E1 settlement plan.
If implemented, it would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution.
The Israeli…
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 20, 2025
Israel has established approximately 160 settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war, housing roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers alongside 3.3 million Palestinians.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position reinforced by a July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which declared Israel’s continued presence in the occupied territories unlawful.
The PA called for international action, including sanctions, to halt Israeli settlement expansion, allegations Israel has long rejected. US officials have so far refrained from condemning the E1 approval, with Ambassador Mike Huckabee stating it is a decision for the Israeli government to make.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has dismissed international criticism, insisting that “the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land.” Opponents warn that the E1 project would make it practically impossible to establish a contiguous Palestinian state by blocking urban and transportation links between the northern and southern West Bank, further inflaming tensions amid ongoing regional conflict.
