Conflict · E1 WedgeIsrael's 1,400-Home E1 Wedge Would Split West Bank in TwoAired August 22, 2026 at 5:10 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Israel has opened tenders and begun0:02marketing 1,400 homes in the E1 corridor0:05east of Jerusalem.0:06>> [music]0:06>> The first phase of a wedge plan to reach0:08about 3,000 homes that would cut the0:10West Bank in two and isolate East0:12Jerusalem from its Palestinian0:13hinterland. The tenders cover 1,4000:16units as the initial tranche toward a0:18total build-out reported between about0:193,000 and about 3,400 homes.0:22>> [music]0:22>> One tranche this week is listed as 1,2340:25homes and an earlier mapping noted 2,1650:28units for Ma'ale Adumim and Mishor0:30Adumim. The price of scale is people.0:32The first 1,400 are projected [music] to0:34add about 12,000 residents. The E1 area0:37covers about 12 square kilometers, about0:4012,000 dunams of Area C between0:42Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. [music] It0:44is bordered on the west by French Hill,0:47on the southwest by Abu Dis, on the0:49south by Kedar, on the east by Ma'ale0:52Adumim, and on the north by Allman. And0:55it contains Bedouin communities [music]0:56including Khan al-Ahmar and Jabal0:58al-Baba. West Bank construction has1:01massively increased since 2022.1:04The Higher Planning Council of the Civil1:05Administration approved the E1 plan in1:08August 2025. [music]1:09Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued1:11a decree advancing construction saying1:13[music] the plan would bury the idea of1:14a Palestinian state. And in mid-August1:172026, the Lands Authority [music] opened1:19tenders and Mayor Guy Yifrach launched1:21marketing just weeks before elections1:22scheduled for October 27th, 2026. Ma'ale1:26Adumim holds about 37,000 settlers in1:28the verified count while contemporaneous1:31reporting as marketing begins places the1:32figure at 38,000 to 40,000. [music]1:35Adding 12,000 from the first phase would1:37push the city toward about 50,000 with1:39infrastructure designed to link it1:41directly to Jerusalem as a continuous1:42built-up corridor. [music] The political1:44drivers are concentrated. Benjamin1:46Netanyahu leads the government driving1:48the acceleration. Finance Minister1:50Bezalel Smotrich advanced the decree and1:52the bury the state framing. [music]1:54Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is leading1:56the British pushback. Ambassador Mike1:58Huckabee articulates Washington's1:59non-intervention2:00>> [music]2:00>> and analyst Philip Toll connects the2:02surge since 2022 to the pre-election2:04timetable. Condemnation was immediate2:06and layered. On [music] August 20, seven2:09Western states, the United Kingdom,2:10France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,2:12Norway, and Canada called publication of2:14tenders unacceptable and urged immediate2:17retraction, stating settlements are2:18illegal under international law2:20reaffirmed by the Security Council and2:22warning businesses that bidding risks2:23serious [music] breaches. On August2:2521st, the foreign ministers of Turkey,2:27Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, [music]2:29Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the2:31United Arab Emirates condemned the2:33expansion as a dangerous escalation and2:35annexation, [music]2:35demanding a halt and recession and2:37saying it would scuttle contiguous2:38sovereignty among Bethlehem, East2:40Jerusalem, and Ramallah. The consequence2:42cited across assessments [music] is loss2:44of contiguity.2:45Building in E1 would cut north-south2:47movement between Ramallah and Bethlehem,2:49separate East [music] Jerusalem from its2:51hinterland, and prevent a contiguous2:53territory linking East Jerusalem,2:55Ramallah, and Bethlehem to the Jordan2:56Valley.2:57>> [music]2:57>> The United Nations Office of the High2:59Commissioner for Human Rights describes3:01E1 as grave and unlawful. Analyses from3:04[music] the Jerusalem Center for Public3:05Affairs and Arab Center DC note a3:08planned Palestinian [music]3:09bypass fabric of life road, but assess3:11the core severance remains. Ancillary3:14infrastructure is advancing in parallel.3:16Route 437, [music]3:18the Eastern Ring Road, whose first3:20section opened after construction3:21restarted in January 2019, [music] and3:24the so-called sovereignty road bypass3:26for El'azariya and Az Ga'yem near3:27El'azariya and Arab al-Jahalin, for3:30[music] which about 3,000 dunams were3:31confiscated via military seizure orders3:34and designated as a security road3:35bypassing [music] Higher Planning3:37Council review. That road building3:39traces a longer hold finally breaking.3:40[music] A 2002 master plan signed by3:43Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer3:45was deferred for decades under repeated3:46United States opposition since the3:481990s. [music]3:49What happens next is constrained and3:51contested. The United Kingdom under Ed3:53Miliband condemned the [music] tender,3:55demanded withdrawal, summoned the3:56Israeli charge d'affaires, and3:57threatened sanctions on individuals3:59involved in West Bank expansion. [music]4:01European Union economic sanctions linked4:03to a 1990s trade deal have been4:04discussed, [music] but appear unlikely,4:06while other reporting describes4:07conditional cross-industry measures on4:09[music] commerce, academia, and4:10security, including labeling of Israeli4:13products and halting collaborations if4:15construction actually begins. No4:17official European Commission or Council4:18decision has been published. [music] One4:21widely cited report returned a 4044:23error, and details remain based on4:25unnamed [music] diplomats. In Israel, a4:27petition by human rights groups and4:29Palestinian communities before the4:31Jerusalem District Court seeking [music]4:33an interim injunction to freeze the4:35first tender, arguing lack of prior4:37notice and a material change since prior4:39denials,4:39>> [music]4:39>> was pending as of August 22nd with no4:42ruling reported, and eviction orders4:44have been issued to Bedouin communities4:46in the E1 zone. Washington's posture4:48[music] shapes the balance. Ambassador4:50Mike Huckabee said the United States4:52does not oppose the E1 expansion and4:54does not view it as a violation of4:56international [music]4:56law, with decisions resting solely with4:58the Israeli government, and suggested5:00the Trump administration could consider5:02allowing annexation of the West Bank,5:04described as a non-intervention rather5:06than a formal legal ruling.5:08That contrasts with prior5:09administrations [music]5:10that warned such projects would harm the5:12two-state solution. And with the5:14International Court of Justice advisory5:16opinion in July 2024, [music]5:18affirming that settlement expansion,5:19land confiscation, and movement5:21restrictions violate occupation law, a5:23position Israel disputes.5:24>> [music]5:25>> For Palestinians in al-Eizariya, Abu5:27Dis, Sawhara, and the Jahalin5:28encampments, the addition of thousands5:30of homes on the E1 ridge would transform5:33daily movement, land access, and5:35planning, expanding Ma'ale Adumim from5:37satellite city into part of a continuous5:39Jerusalem metropolis, the physical fact5:41that would make a contiguous Palestinian5:42state unworkable.5:45Like and follow for more stories that5:46matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗