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8m ago

Israel Approves 3,400 Settlement Homes in E1 Corridor, Undercutting Two-State Prospects

Presented as a means to seal off Palestinian sovereignty with final sign-off due by Aug. 20, the approvals have triggered sanctions from Western capitals alongside legal warnings from rights groups.

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Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a map of an area near the settlement of Maale Adumim, a land corridor known as E1, outside Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, on August 14, 2025, after a press conference at the site.
A view of part of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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Overview

  • Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the approval of 3,401 housing units for the E1 area east of Jerusalem as part of a broader package of about 4,030 new West Bank homes.
  • Smotrich framed the E1 development as a deliberate step to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state” by connecting Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem and fracturing Palestinian territorial contiguity.
  • Final planning authority sign-off is expected around Aug. 20 and could allow infrastructure work to begin within months, with housing construction possible in about a year.
  • The move has drawn sanctions from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand alongside condemnations from the United Nations and legal warnings from rights groups.
  • Smotrich’s claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump supported the revival remains unconfirmed, highlighting rifts over settlement policy within Israel’s far-right government.