Israel has approved a long-debated settlement project that will add 3,400 housing units for Jewish residents in the West Bank — a move that supporters and critics alike say could severely undermine Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
Known as the E1 project, the plan would extend existing Jewish settlements across a critical corridor of land just east of Jerusalem. Critics argue that such development would effectively split the West Bank in two, making it nearly impossible for a future Palestinian state to have territorial continuity while also constraining the growth of Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
The E1 plan was first proposed decades ago but repeatedly stalled due to heavy international pressure and domestic controversy. That changed this month when Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, abruptly pushed the project forward. On Wednesday, it received final approval from a Defense Ministry planning committee.
Smotrich hailed the decision as historic, describing it as a “significant step that practically erases the two-state delusion,” a direct challenge to renewed international efforts to recognize Palestinian statehood later this year. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” Smotrich declared. “Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
The announcement has drawn swift and widespread condemnation. The United Nations, the European Union, and several Arab states sharply criticized the move, warning that it violates international law and undermines prospects for peace. Liberal Jewish groups in both the United States and Israel have also voiced opposition, saying the decision pushes Israel further away from a negotiated solution with the Palestinians.
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One major obstacle, however, was removed last week when U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee stated that Washington would not oppose the E1 project. Huckabee, a longtime supporter of Israeli settlements, broke with decades of U.S. policy that discouraged such expansion, signaling a significant diplomatic shift.
The decision comes amid a surge in violence in the West Bank, where Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians have sharply increased. For many observers, the approval of E1 is not just a local planning matter but a watershed moment that could reshape the political and geographic landscape of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.