Last hurdle cleared to start controversial settlement project near Jerusalem
The Times of Israel••world
Key Points:
- Israel has issued a government tender to begin construction on the E1 settlement project near Jerusalem, which critics say would effectively divide the West Bank and hinder the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.
- The E1 project, proposed for over two decades but previously frozen due to US pressure, involves developing 3,401 housing units and is seen by opponents as creating irreversible facts on the ground against a two-state solution.
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key proponent of the plan, views the settlement expansion as a way to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and has pushed for large-scale settlement growth and land appropriation in the West Bank.
- Palestinian authorities and much of the international community consider Israeli settlements illegal and
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