Israel Expands E1 Settlement to 3,401 Homes Ahead of Oct. 27 Elections
Updated
Updated · EUobserver · Sep 17
Israel Expands E1 Settlement to 3,401 Homes Ahead of Oct. 27 Elections
3 articles · Updated · EUobserver · Sep 17
Summary
3,401 homes are now planned for Israel’s E1 West Bank settlement, up from 1,234, after authorities quietly posted the enlarged scheme on an official website on Sept. 6.
Ir Amim said the near-tripling is meant to create an “irreversible reality on the ground” before Israel’s Oct. 27 elections; the added 2,167 units would cut the West Bank in half and further undermine a two-state solution.
Ursula von der Leyen called the original E1 plan “unacceptable” in a Sept. 16 speech, but said the EU lacks a majority to ban imports from settlements and had not proposed punitive measures by publication.
Rights groups and left-wing MEPs said that gap between condemnation and action shows years of EU pressure have failed to restrain settlement expansion.