New Delhi, September 16 (Daily Kiran) : Israel’s recent announcement to construct 1,234 residential units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank has sparked significant international backlash. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, condemned the project as “unacceptable” during her address to European lawmakers at the annual ‘State of the Union’ event in Strasbourg.
The E1 project is strategically located between East Jerusalem and the major Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Reports indicate that the initiative aims to eventually establish around 3,400 housing units. Ma’ale Adumim is situated approximately seven kilometers east of East Jerusalem.
Critics argue that the expansive construction of Israeli settlements in this region will hinder the movement and connectivity of Palestinian communities. According to the United Nations and a significant portion of the international community, the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories contravenes international law. However, Israel disputes this legal interpretation, referring to the West Bank as ‘Judea and Samaria.’
The United Nations Human Rights Office previously labeled the E1 project as a serious and unlawful step towards consolidating control over occupied territories. The UN Secretary-General has also stated that settlement construction in this area violates international law and contradicts UN resolutions.
The E1 initiative, which began in the 1990s under Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, has faced numerous halts due to international pressure. Initial infrastructure work commenced in 2004, with the construction of roads and a police headquarters, yet plans for thousands of homes remained stalled.
Governments in the U.S. and Europe have long warned that development in E1 could jeopardize the territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state. Following American pressure, Israel paused the advancement of the E1 plan in 2022.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister in the Defense Ministry, oversees settlement-related matters in the West Bank. He has linked the E1 project to preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state, asserting that its approval would effectively nullify the concept of Palestinian statehood.
In March 2025, Israel allocated approximately 92 million dollars for the construction of the so-called ‘Sovereignty Road,’ designed to divert Palestinian traffic away from E1 and Ma’ale Adumim. In May 2026, Israeli authorities demolished around 50 Palestinian shops and businesses near the eastern entrance of Al-Izariya, a move tied to the planned road construction associated with the settlement.
The E1 project is viewed as part of a broader strategy to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In February 2026, Israel’s security cabinet approved several measures related to the expansion of Israeli jurisdiction in the West Bank.
The deadline for submitting bids for the new E1 tender is set for October 19, just eight days before Israel’s upcoming elections on October 27.
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