E1 and Ma’ale Adumim Settlement Expansion: A Grave Threat to the Two-State Solution

Introduction

Despite Israel’s clear legal obligations under international law to halt all settlement activity, its continued systematic colonization of Palestinian land, particularly in occupied East Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, constitutes a grave threat to the two-state solution, undermining the geographic and political core of a future Palestinian state. The settlement bloc of Ma’ale Adumim, along with the adjacent E-1 settlement area, is considered the most aggressive Israeli settlement enterprise aimed at fragmenting Palestinian territory and severing the East Jerusalem area from the rest of the territories in the West Bank.

On August 6, 2025, Israel’s Higher Planning Council is scheduled to hold a final hearing on objections to plans for constructing over 3,400 new settlement units in E1. The approval of this plan would effectively formalize the annexation of this strategic area, undermining the prospects of a viable Palestinian state and the two-state solution as we all envision it. This policy brief examines the implications of these settlement expansions, recent political developments, international responses, and provides urgent recommendations to counter this threat.

The E1 Settlement Plan

Efforts to advance the E-1 settlement plan have persisted since the 1990s, only to be stalled repeatedly by local and international opposition. The plan was revived by Netanyahu in 2012 and approved for deposit in 2020. Although procedural freezes and international diplomatic pressure have postponed its final approval, including hearings held under successive Israeli governments, the scheduled August 6, 2025 hearing signals a renewed Israeli attempt to entrench these illegal settlements amidst shifting regional and international dynamics.

The current Israeli government is leveraging the international distraction caused by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, to accelerate settlements construction, including in the E-1 area. In April 2025, the Israeli government approved the “Sovereignty Road” between Al Ezariya and A-Zaim and the “Road 80 Substitute” from Bethlehem to Jericho. These projects aim to segregate Israeli and Palestinian traffic, enabling Israel to restrict Palestinian access to the central areas of the West Bank, advance the annexation of Ma’ale Adumim settlement, and facilitate the E-1 settlement plan. Simultaneously, Israel’s national water company Mekorot initiated the relocation of critical infrastructure to support this effort.

These actions, condemned by Palestinians and international community alike, risk cementing irreversible facts on the ground and closing off any remaining pathways toward a just and lasting peace.

Implications of Settlement Expansion

The Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc, including affiliated settlements such as Kfar Adumim, Almon, Kedar, and Mishor Adumim, currently houses more than 47,500 Israeli illegal settlers, extending 14 kilometers deep into Palestinian land, controlling nearly 58 square kilometers by the Annexation Wall.  Since April 2024, the Ma’ale Adumim settlement has witnessed rapid expansion. Israeli authorities have already approved more than 3,165 settlement units, with thousands more planned across the West Bank in 2025. Recently, the controversial E-1 area plan has been reactivated, including the construction of over 3,400 settlement units in addition to large-scale industrial and commercial projects on approximately 12.4 square kilometers of confiscated Palestinian land belonging to surrounding villages.

As of 2025, the settler population across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has exceeded 740,000, marking a substantial increase that deepens the demographic and territorial fragmentation resulting from the Israeli occupation, and further jeopardizes the prospects for a permanent status agreement regarding the West Bank. In addition, under the current Israeli government, more than 97,000 settlement units are in advanced stages of approval and/or implementation—42,000 in the West Bank[1] and 55,000 in East Jerusalem[2]—reflecting an unprecedented scale of construction.

Implications on Palestinians

This ongoing expansion of Maale Adumim and E-1 plan continues to fragment Palestinian territory and undermine Palestinian territorial contiguity, effectively cutting off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and separating the southern West Bank from the north. Over 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities, primarily from the Jahalin and Sawahreh tribes, totaling some 3,700 people are under constant threat of forced displacement. These communities face their third forced expulsion since 1948, the latest driven by settlement expansion policies.

The E-1 plan extensive land seizures and infrastructure developments will further restrict Palestinian movement by cutting off critical transportation arteries, isolating Palestinian neighborhoods, and worsening the fragmentation that prevents the establishment of an independent contiguous Palestinian state.

Violations of International Law

Israeli settlement activities in Ma’ale Adumim, E-1, and throughout the West Bank flagrantly violate international law, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territories. These actions violate UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, and 2334, and the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion, which confirmed the illegality of settlement expansion and annexation.

The United Nations, the ICJ, and key states, including France, the United Kingdom, and Jordan, have condemned the E1 project as illegal and detrimental to peace. These ongoing settlement policies deepen Palestinian dispossession and undermine the two-state solution.

Recommendations and Conclusions

It is imperative to pressure Israel, the occupying power, ton immediately halt all settlement construction including settlement expansion, particularly in E-1 and Ma’ale Adumim, and to suspend government funding and subsidies that facilitate settler growth in the occupied West Bank. Preventing further confiscation of Palestinian land, home demolitions, forced displacement, and the transfer of Israeli settlers into occupied territories is essential to safeguarding the viability of a future Palestinian state.

A comprehensive strategy should be developed to support vulnerable Palestinian Bedouin communities through legal assistance, reconstruction aid, and the provision of essential services such as water, electricity, and healthcare. In parallel, effective mechanisms must be established to monitor and respond to cases of forced displacement.

At the international level, UN member states, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, must issue a clear and unified warning against any settlement construction in the E-1 area. Diplomatic leverage, including conditionality in bilateral relations and the imposition of restrictions on agreements, should be employed to deter further Israeli settlement activity. Legal avenues must also be strengthened by supporting the State of Palestine’s diplomatic efforts and working in coordination with international legal institutions to pursue accountability mechanisms.

Additionally, global awareness campaigns and public diplomacy initiatives should be enhanced to expose the irreversible consequences of Israeli settlement expansion and to mobilize broad international support for peace and justice.

The settlement expansion in Ma’ale Adumim and E-1 represent a strategic and deliberate effort to impose irreversible facts on the ground, effectively dismantling Palestinian territorial contiguity. These actions constitute clear violations of international law and have been widely condemned by the international community. The upcoming hearing on August 6, 2025, marks a critical juncture, one that demands decisive international intervention to halt these plans and uphold the principles of peace, justice, and Palestinian self-determination