Tel Aviv / PNN /

The “Higher Planning Council” of the Israeli army’s Civil Administration has approved a settlement construction plan in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, which includes more than 3,401 housing units, in addition to establishing a new settlement called “Ashah’el” that includes 342 housing units and public buildings.

The Peace Now movement said that the approval of settlement construction in E1 was carried out at unprecedented speed, stressing that this plan is “particularly fatal” to the prospects of peace and the future of a two-state solution, as it divides the West Bank into two parts and prevents the development of a metropolitan area between Ramallah, East Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.

Bezalel Smotrich, the Minister in the Ministry of Defense responsible for settlement affairs, declared last week that the E1 plan “effectively links the Ma’ale Adumim settlement with Jerusalem, severs Palestinian territorial continuity between Ramallah and Bethlehem, and constitutes the final nail in the coffin of the idea of a Palestinian state.”

Israel has attempted to advance this plan since the 1990s, but without success due to international opposition, including from the United States. After returning to the premiership, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the advancement of the plan in 2012, and again in 2020, when the plan was formally deposited for approval ahead of implementation.

Peace Now emphasized that the E1 plan is part of thousands of settlement units approved by the Israeli government this year, with the aim of preventing a two-state solution.

The movement added that since the beginning of 2025, the Higher Planning Council has advanced the construction of 24,338 settlement housing units, including the E1 plan.