Israel Approves Major Settlement Project Splitting West Bank, Isolating Jerusalem

August 20, 2025 News
New illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. (Photo: Trocaire, via Wikimedia Commons)

The E1 project includes the building of more than 3,400 settler homes between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Israel has given final approval to a “highly controversial” settlement project that would divide the occupied West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem, according to Israeli media.

The Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration, a department under Israel’s Defense Ministry, approved the so-called E1 project, which includes the building of more than 3,400 settler homes between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement in the occupied West Bank, The Times of Israel, cited by the Anadolu news agency, reported.

The project aims to split the occupied West Bank into two parts, cutting off the northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and Hebron in the south, and isolating East Jerusalem, the report stated.

Smotrich Calls Decision ‘Historic’

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who endorsed the plan last week, called the decision “historic,” adding that it was “a significant step that practically erases the two-state delusion and consolidates the Jewish people’s hold on the heart of the Land of Israel.”

Smotrich added, “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not by slogans but by deeds. Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”

According to the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the Settlement Subcommittee of the Civil Administration also advanced a plan to build 342 more units in the Asahel settlement between east and west Mount Hebron (al-Khalil), Anadolu reported.

‘Dangerous’ – Peace Now

Peace Now, an Israeli rights group, has described the E1 settlement project as a “knockout blow” to the two-state solution, warning that it would bisect the West Bank and further isolate East Jerusalem.

“The E1 plan is one of the most dangerous to the future of both peoples and the region as a whole. By relentlessly pushing this project forward, the Israeli government is sabotaging any possibility of a political solution and dragging both Israelis and Palestinians into an endless cycle of conflict,” the group stated.

Observers say the renewed push for the project appears to be a response to recent announcements by countries, including the UK, France, and Australia, that they intend to recognize Palestinian statehood during the UN General Assembly meetings in September.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Settlement Expansion Since 1967

According to the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israel has built at least 710 settlements and military outposts in the occupied West Bank, an average of one settlement every 8 square kilometers (3 square miles), since 1967.

Since Israel began its genocidal onslaught on Gaza in October 2023, at least 1,014 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

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In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful and should be brought to an end “as rapidly as possible.”

The Court also concluded that all states “are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence” of Israel in occupied Palestinian territory “and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence” of Israel in that territory.

(Anadolu, PC)

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3 Comments

  1. israel does NOT have enough time left to either build more settlements or occupy Gaza City…The UN General Assembly meeting is approaching in September and it will be Earth-Shaking in its impact! There is likely to be a cascade of Nations still out-standing who will join in Recognizing Palestine… Once a majority of g-7 Nations do, there will follow, from popular pressure, a cascade of heavy sanctions on israel… israel has chosen the same path as Apartheid south africa with the same few allies— And everyone on Earth knows where THAT path leads!! Even More, israel’s hunta sound exactly like Hitler in 1945, calling up imaginary armies, making pointless and empty threats!!!

    • Does Smotrich’s “economy” supports such wild boasts? Does he expect Daddy Trump pay for it? Does Smotrich use cheap Palestinian labour? Forbidden. What about “Israeli” labour? It’s tied up with their failing battle. The army is shedding it’s troops: dead, incapacity, or will not enlist. What happened the 80,000 “religious”? What happened “Israeli” boast “Israeli fights its own battles” – as long as US pays for it?

  2. It might be worth pointing out that Israel’s expansionism to the north and west and south, means that Israel has no defined boundaries, and thus is ineligible for continued recognition as a state. And a non-state declaring that it has rights to intrude into private properties of private citizens? Authority is hereby granted by the facts in this case to any citizen of any country in the world to commit a citizens’ arrest upon any individual fraudulently claiming to be a citizen of the non-state known as Israel.

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