Overview

• Israel’s Defense Ministry authorized roughly 3,400 housing units in the E1 corridor adjoining Maale Adumim and East Jerusalem.
• At a signing ceremony in Maale Adumim, Netanyahu vowed there will be no Palestinian state and projected the settlement’s population could rise from about 40,000 to 70,000 within five years.
• The UN secretary-general condemned the move, the Palestinian Authority called it progressive annexation, and the governments of the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand issued criticism, while President Donald Trump voiced support.
• Reporting estimates nearly $1 billion in roads and major infrastructure are included to support the expansion.
• The E1 plan, previously frozen in 2012 and 2020 after US and European objections, is widely faulted for isolating East Jerusalem and splitting north–south access in the West Bank.