What is Israel's E1 project? Long-frozen plan that will 'erase Palestine from the table'. What's next

Israel has approved a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank that critics say could destroy any prospect of a Palestinian state. Known as the E1 plan, the project has been frozen for more than two decades due to international pressure, but is now advancing under Israel’s far-right government.

The plan involves constructing more than 3,400 housing units on a 12-square-kilometre stretch of land just east of Jerusalem, connecting the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim to the city.
What is the E1?

E1, short for East One, has long been considered one of the most sensitive areas of the West Bank. Both Palestinians and Israelis see Jerusalem as their capital, and building across this corridor would separate Palestinian cities such as Ramallah and Bethlehem.

The area, lying between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, is strategically significant as it is one of the last geographical links connecting the Palestinian cities of Ramallah in the north and Bethlehem in the south. Currently, Palestinians must travel a long detour through Israeli checkpoints, making the journey hours longer.

First approved in 1999, the “E1 master plan” (Plan No. 420/4) covers about 1,200 hectares, much of it declared state land under what Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem described in 2012 as a “legally dubious procedure.” According to B’Tselem, while the plan includes residential neighbourhoods, it also designates areas for tourism, commerce, services and even a police headquarters, completed in 2008. They warned that the development would restrict access to privately owned Palestinian land in the area.

What Israel is saying

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, hailed the decision as a rebuke to countries moving towards recognising Palestinian statehood. “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he declared. “Every settlement, every neighbourhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long reected the creation of a Palestinian state and insists on maintaining permanent control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Israel says it could theoretically dismantle settlements, as it did in Gaza in 2005, but few observers believe that is likely now.

The United States, traditionally the main power restraining Israeli settlement plans, has shifted in tone. While past administrations opposed E1, the Trump White House signalled far less concern. Trump’s ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, dismissed the two-state solution as “not a high priority”. The Biden administration has not directly addressed the latest approval, though it has previously urged Israel to halt settlement expansion.

What happens next?

Israel’s Supreme Planning Council is expected to give formal backing to the project after rejecting objections by NGOs. Infrastructure work could begin within months, with housing construction starting in about a year.

The E1 master plan dates back to 1999 and includes not just housing but also commercial areas, hotels, and police headquarters. Some infrastructure, including roads and lighting, has already been built at a cost of around NIS 200 million.

Palestinians say the project will further entrench an apartheid-like system in which three million Palestinians live under military rule, while more than 700,000 settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem enjoy full rights as Israeli citizens.

Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the Israeli NGO Ir Amim, said: “Today’s approval demonstrates how determined Israel is in pursuing what Minister Smotrich has described as a strategic programme to bury the possibility of a Palestinian state and to effectively annex the West Bank.”