Jerusalem Governorate Warns of E1 Plan: A Dangerous Settlement Escalation That Cuts Off the West Bank and Isolates Jerusalem

SadaNews - The Jerusalem Governorate has deemed the decision by the Israeli occupation authorities to resume pushing the dangerous settlement plan in the E1 area east of Jerusalem as a blatant violation of international law. This decision comes as part of ongoing colonial policies aimed at undermining any prospects for a just and lasting political solution, and imposing reality on the ground through force.

In a statement on Monday morning, July 21, 2025, the Governorate added that this plan, which has been revived after years of being frozen due to international pressure, is considered one of the most dangerous settlement projects. It aims to divide the West Bank into two separate sections, which undermines the geographical unity of the Palestinian land, isolates Jerusalem from its natural Palestinian surroundings, and suffocates the possibility of establishing a geographically connected Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Governorate warned in its statement that the implementation of this project will lead to the destruction of what remains of the Palestinian urban fabric between Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, threatening the existence of nearly one million Palestinians in the area by creating a settlement continuity extending from the center of the West Bank to Jerusalem, in a blatant violation of the red lines that the international community has long warned against.

The Governorate emphasized that this occupation move, which comes amid regional and international preoccupation with the war in Gaza, is a blatant exploitation of crises to impose illegal realities on the ground, representing a political crime added to the record of the occupation, which is rife with violations, settlements, and creeping annexation.

The Jerusalem Governorate called on the United Nations and the international community, particularly the countries sponsoring peace, to bear their political, legal, and moral responsibilities, and to take effective and immediate steps to stop this settlement plan, which threatens security and stability throughout the region and leads to new escalations that will have serious repercussions at all levels.

The Governorate also praised the objections of Palestinian citizens and human rights and humanitarian organizations that confronted this project, and stressed the need to expand the scope of popular, diplomatic, and legal confrontation against this plan and similar settlement projects that seek to legitimize the occupation and entrench an apartheid system.