Israel’s plans to build in the area known as E-1 are putting a future where a secure and democratic Israel lives next to a viable independent Palestine at grave risk.

Israel’s Civil Administration is currently holding hearings to review objections to settlement plans in E-1. This is one of the few remaining stages before settlement construction will be allowed to commence.

There’s a reason the proposed settlements in E-1 have been called “doomsday settlements.” If Israel allows the plans to be enacted it would threaten the territorial contiguity necessary for a viable independent Palestinian state by dividing the north of the West Bank from the south, as well as the West Bank from East Jerusalem. E-1 is a vital corridor for Palestinian communal life, connecting Ramallah and the northern West Bank to Bethlehem and the southern West Bank. 

Our colleagues at Peace Now have filed objections to the plans in Israel, and now it is our turn to back them up. Representative Mark Pocan is leading a letter urging the Biden Administration to weigh in and use diplomatic pressure to halt Israel’s approval process of E-1 settlements.

This action closed on Friday, November 19.