Overview

• The Planning and Building Committee gave final approval on Aug. 20 after petitions were rejected on Aug. 6, clearing roughly 3,400–3,500 homes in the E1 area next to Maale Adumim.
• Israeli officials and watchdogs say infrastructure work could begin within months, with home construction starting in about a year.
• Rights groups warn the project would sever the remaining corridor between Ramallah and Bethlehem and further cut Palestinian areas off from East Jerusalem.
• Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who holds cabinet-level authority over settlement policy, praised the move as ending prospects for Palestinian statehood, aligning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longstanding opposition.
• The UN and European governments, including Germany and the UK, condemned the decision as illegal under international law and harmful to a two-state solution, and the same meeting also approved about 350 homes in Ashael near Hebron.