Israel Approves Controversial E1 Settlement Plan Despite International Condemnation

August 21, 2025 4:44 PM

Israel Approves Controversial E1 Settlement Plan Despite International Condemnation

Israel on Wednesday approved the construction of 3,401 housing units in E1, a highly contentious area of the occupied West Bank that critics say will effectively divide Palestinian territory and undermine prospects for a two-state solution. The decision by the Higher Planning Council has triggered strong condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and international community. The approval represents the culmination of decades-old plans that had been repeatedly shelved under international pre...

Israel’s Smotrich approves settlement in bid to ‘bury’ idea of Palestinian state

August 14, 2025 3:33 PM

Israel’s Smotrich approves settlement in bid to ‘bury’ idea of Palestinian state

Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has approved plans for a settlement that would split East Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank, a move his office said would bury the idea of a Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan to revive the long-frozen E1 scheme, which Palestinians and world powers have said would effectively lop the West Bank in two and will likely draw international ire. In a statement headlined "Burying ...