Gaza: Israeli occupation authorities have issued a tender for the construction of 1,234 settlement units in the southern part of the E1 plan east of occupied Jerusalem. This marks a significant move from the approval and planning stage toward land marketing and implementation.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the tender, No. 186/2026, is based on approved detailed plan No. 420/4/7, which is one of the two main residential plans within the E1 project. The tender encompasses seven settlement complexes, with the deadline for submitting bids set for October 19, 2026. The Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission emphasized that the tender is part of a broader geopolitical project aimed at reshaping the area between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley.
The E1 plan covers approximately 12,000 dunams between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, comprising interconnected residential, industrial, and tourism plans, as well as roads and infrastructure networks. Plan 420/4/7 targets the southern section of the settlement project, while plan 420/4/10 focuses on its eastern section. Both plans were approved in August 2025 for a combined 3,401 settlement units, with notices granting them legal validity published in October of the same year. The recent tender initiates the marketing of most units included in the southern plan, transitioning from planning to developer selection and construction preparation.
The commission highlighted E1's strategic significance along the geographic corridor linking the central and southern parts of the West Bank, connecting Jerusalem with its Palestinian surroundings. Implementation of plans 420/4/7 and 420/4/10, along with other plans in the area, would create a continuous settlement extension from Jerusalem eastward toward Ma'ale Adumim. This development would further isolate occupied East Jerusalem from the West Bank, undermining its potential as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
The project threatens Palestinian territorial contiguity between the Ramallah and al-Bireh, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem governorates. It risks turning movement between the northern and southern West Bank from natural geographic connectivity into restricted routes and tunnels controlled by Israeli occupation authorities. The commission asserts that the project extends beyond land seizure, aiming to restructure Palestinian movement and population distribution, confining Palestinians to disconnected enclaves surrounded by settlements, bypass roads, and areas under Israeli control.
The so-called "fabric of life road," sections of which run from the vicinity of Anata toward al-Za'ayim and al-Eizariya, is also part of the broader E1 plan. Although Israel presents the road as a solution for Palestinian movement, the commission argues that it effectively replaces Palestinian geographic and territorial continuity with a separate, controlled traffic corridor, allowing settlement construction to proceed while channeling Palestinians onto designated bypass routes.
The implementation of the project poses a direct threat to Palestinian and Bedouin communities around al-Za'ayim, al-Isawiya, Anata, al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, Khan al-Ahmar, Jabal al-Baba, and Wadi al-Jamal. These communities are located within the area Israel seeks to reorganize around the settlement project, facing increasing restrictions on construction, access to land, grazing, and movement, alongside a growing risk of forced displacement.
E1 is also linked to the "Greater Jerusalem" project, which seeks to surround Jerusalem with major settlement blocs: Ma'ale Adumim to the east, Givat Ze'ev to the north, and Gush Etzion to the south. Integrating these blocs into the settlement network around Jerusalem would expand Israeli control while separating Palestinian communities from the city's historic, political, and economic center.
According to the commission, the issuance of Tuesday's tender represents a significant shift in the development of E1. The project has transitioned from being a delayed plan or political proposal to an active implementation program for land allocation and settlement unit construction. The plan's implementation violates international law prohibiting the transfer of the occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory and contradicts UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which affirmed the illegality of Israeli settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.