Netanyahu Accelerates E1 Settlement Push, Deepening West Bank Divide
During a September ceremony at a West Bank settlement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would never allow a Palestinian state, asserting that the land belongs to Israel.
He signed an agreement to expand the contested E1 area east of Jerusalem, and has released tenders for about 1,200 new settlement homes – a move met with global condemnation.
All Israeli settlements are deemed illegal under international law, yet Israel has built roughly 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since 1967.
The UN Secretary‑General described the plans as an "existential threat" to a future Palestinian state, while a joint statement from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada called them "unacceptable" and warned the projects would split the West Bank. The European Union echoed these concerns.
The Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, demanded the signatories halt the E1 plan, highlighting the growing pressures on the region.
Beyond the E1 controversy, satellite imagery shows rapid construction in north‑western settlements like Tzofim, where about 185 new buildings have appeared since 2022. Roads and outposts have proliferated, adding to a network that crosses Palestinian towns and villages.
Roads have been funded by the Israeli government—a >1 billion‑shekel ($360 m) investment aimed at tightening Israeli control in the West Bank.
Settler violence has escalated; recent incidents include the siege of two Palestinian homes, cutting their water and power, leading U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee to label the attacks as "criminal and terrorist".
Senior Israeli ministers suggest that establishing E1 will cement Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said his life mission is to thwart a Palestinian state.
These developments arrive just months before Israel’s highly contested elections, providing the right‑wing coalition with a potential electoral advantage by demonstrating tangible "facts on the ground".
Additional reporting by Barbara Metzler, BBC Verify. Graphics by Tom Shiel and Mesut Ersoz.
