A view of houses in the Ma'ale Adumum in the E1 area, where the Israeli government plans to build Jewish housing units in the E1 settlement project, in the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, West Bank, on Thursday, August 20, 2026. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Foreign governments are urging Israel to abandon plans to construct a settlement in the occupied West Bank that would effectively divide the Palestinian territory in two, saying it will further degrade the prospects of a two-state solution.
Israel has for decades sought to develop E1, a settlement project of thousands of housing units that would connect Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem in the Israeli occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlements are widely regarded as illegal under international law.
Construction of E1, which would divide the West Bank into two noncontiguous northern and southern parts, has largely been held off due to international pressure, but on Tuesday, the Israel Land Authority quietly published tenders online to construct 1,234 housing units in the development. The bidding process is to close Oct. 19, a week before Israeli elections.
Israeli settlement monitor Peace Now lambasted Israel after it published the tender, saying it was seeking to sign contracts with builders prior to the election in order to make it harder for the next government to cancel the project.
