Israel’s East 1 (E1) settlement expansion plan threatens to sever the occupied West Bank into two disconnected enclaves and “bury the idea of the Palestinian State.”

 

The planned Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem, known as E1, lies on land that much of the world view as integral to any future Palestinian state.

 

Israel held off on the settlement project, which plans for about 3,400 housing units, for decades amid international concern that building there would thwart Palestinian statehood, before granting final approval from the Israeli hardline government last year.

 

This September, weeks after publishing an initial tender for the construction of more than 1,234 settler housing units in the area, the government said that it would open bidding on Oct. 25 for another 2,167 units.

 

The bidding for the first 1,234 housing units opened in mid-August and is due to close on October 19, just a week before national elections scheduled for October 27.

 

The latest tender is expected to open for bids two days before the election and to close on December 21, by which time a new government might be in place.

 

E1 is strategic area and building there would largely sever the northern half of the West Bank from the southern half, complicating the prospect of a viable, contiguous Palestinian heartland.

 

The project would link Jerusalem with Maale Adumim, a large, urban Israeli settlement east of the city.

 

Once the bidding process closes and contracts for E1 construction are awarded, experts warn of a point of no return.

 

In a statement, the British foreign office reiterated its position that settlement expansion puts “progress towards the two-state solution at significant risk.”

 

Israel’s decision to push ahead with the sensitive project showed how diplomacy between the two countries had broken downand it helped galvanize international support for economic sanctions on the settlements, including from Canada, France and nine other nations.

 

On Sept. 8, Ed Miliband, the British foreign secretary, gave a sweeping address in Parliament in which he accused Israeli settlers of ethnic cleansing; announced a trade ban on Israeli settlements; declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories fundamentally illegal; and said Britain would refuse to export any weapons that would materially support the occupation.

 

Miliband cited the E1 settlement as one of the motivating factors, calling it “a longstanding red line for the international community, which is why we saw such an outpouring from our allies.”

 

The E1 construction will proceed and the West Bank will be bisected on two separate axes, irrevocably undermining its territorial integrity and creating facts on the ground that extinguish the possibility of a viable Palestinian State.

 

Israeli officials have not concealed the intent behind this project.

 

Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister and the government’s chief promoter of settlements, has prioritized the development of E1, saying it “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”

 

Upon signing the framework agreement for E1 development, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared: “There will be no Palestinian State.”

 

The Trump administration has so far avoided openly condemning the E1 project, though it has opposed Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

 

However , 29 Democratic senators—including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Jeanne Shaheen, and Cory Booker—warned that the plan risks further destabilization in the West Bank and jeopardizes prospects for a two-state solution.

 

The statement followed a joint letter signed by nearly the entire Senate Democratic Caucus urging Prime Minister Netanyahu to prevent further acts of violence by settlers, stop approving additional settlements and remove illegal outposts.

 

Opponents of the settlement say the current government is trying to curry favor with right-wing voters and to lock in as many bureaucratic moves as possible regarding E1 while it still can.

 

According to the UN, the project would “restrict Palestinian territorial contiguity between the Ramallah and al-Bireh, Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates…[creating] routes and tunnels controlled by the Israeli occupation authorities.” The plan creates a continuous settlement corridor between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem.

 

About 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank in communities considered illegal under international law by most countries. Three million Palestinians in the territory live under Israeli military law, in a two-tier system that critics liken to apartheid, although Israel disputes this.

 

In June 2025, Britain issued sanctions on the two far-right Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and in September of that year recognized Palestinian statehood in a coordinated move with Canada and Australia.

 

Miliband belongs to a liberal segment of Britain’s Jewish community whose members distinguish between Israel and occupied West Bank settlements, which they argue threaten Israel’s democracy by entrenching Israeli rule over millions of Palestinians without civil and political rights.

 

The clash helps explain how relations between two longtime allies, already under strain, have now reached one of their lowest points in decades. It also points to the incendiary nature of the E1 project, which Netanyahu’s government has pursued as it has expanded settlements at a breakneck pace.

 

Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister and the government’s chief promoter of settlements, has been explicit about his hopes for E1, saying he believes that it “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”

 

While the upcoming Israeli elections could usher in a new political coalition led by Netanyahu’s opponents, even they would probably struggle to roll back what the government has done. The coalition would most likely be fragile and rely on the support of some settlers and their advocates.

 

“If it’s not stopped now, I don’t know if the next government will stop it,” said Hagit Ofran, an expert at Peace Now, an Israeli settlement monitor.

 

In its statement, the Israeli foreign ministry noted that the E1 plan was originally approveda year ago, and said the announcement in August was therefore “nothing new.” But experts argue that each step in the process makes it harder to reverse.

 

Emergency international intervention and targeted sanctions are being demanded by coalitions and many governments around the world .

 

Over time, no land will remain for the establishment of a Palestinian state, unless massive international pressure is applied.