Israel Issues 1,234 E1 Settlement Tenders as 5 Allies Call Plan Unacceptable
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 20
Israel Issues 1,234 E1 Settlement Tenders as 5 Allies Call Plan Unacceptable
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 20
Summary
1,234 housing units in the sensitive E1 corridor were put out to tender on Wednesday, reviving a project long frozen under international pressure and intensifying scrutiny of Israel's West Bank settlement drive.
The UK, France, Germany, Italy and Canada urged Israel to retract the plan immediately, while UN chief Antonio Guterres called E1 an existential threat to a contiguous Palestinian state.
The tender covers part of a 3,401-unit scheme approved last August on 12 sq km between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim, an area critics say would split the West Bank and isolate East Jerusalem.
19 October is the bid deadline, just days before Israel's 27 October election, a timing that could make any future government far less able to reverse the project.
About 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in roughly 160 settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where expansion has accelerated under Benjamin Netanyahu's pro-settler coalition.
What fate awaits the 40 Bedouin communities as new housing tenders threaten to physically split the West Bank?
Could the rushed October deadline for the E1 settlement permanently erase the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state?
How will Western governments enforce legal consequences against companies bidding on the controversial E1 settlement project?
The August 2026 E1 Settlement Tender: How 1,234 New Units Could Shatter Palestinian Contiguity and Trigger Global Sanctions
Overview
In August 2026, Israel issued a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area, a move that locks in the controversial project and makes it very hard for future governments to reverse. This sudden action broke a recent state promise to give advance notice, leaving legal opponents scrambling. If contracts are signed, any attempt to halt the project would face tough legal and financial barriers. Building in E1 would physically split the West Bank, undermining the possibility of a Palestinian state and threatening to displace Bedouin communities. The move also violates international law and has triggered strong global backlash, with calls for sanctions and warnings to companies against participating.