Israel Breaks Promise Over E1 Settlement Tender, Rights Groups Say

sajadi Editor : Widi - Wednesday, 19 August 2026 - 12:00 WIB

Wednesday, 19 August 2026 - 12:00 WIB

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Jerusalem, MINA – The Israeli occupation broke a commitment over the controversial E1 illegal settlement project in occupied East Jerusalem by issuing a tender for 1,234 illegal settlement units without notifying petitioners who had challenged the project in court, three Israeli rights groups said Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the groups, Ir Amim, Bimkom, and Peace Now said the tender was issued while legal proceedings over the project remain before the Jerusalem District Court, and before the government has submitted its formal response to the petition.

The E1 plan covers roughly 12 square kilometers east of Jerusalem and aims to link the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim with Jerusalem via the construction of Israeli housing on Palestinian land.

The groups accused the government of reneging on a formal commitment made through the State Attorney’s Office to notify them in advance before issuing any tenders related to E1.

They said the tender includes 1,234 illegal settlement units, almost half of the 3,401 units that have been approved as part of the wider E1 project. “Implementing this phase alone will create irreversible facts on the ground with far-reaching political and geographic implications,” the groups said.

The groups also noted that the State Attorney’s Office had informed petitioners on July 19 that no tenders related to E1 were expected within the next two or three months, while pledging to inform them in advance if the government decided to proceed.

“However, the government issued the first tender today without any prior notice,” the groups said, adding that petitioners only learned of it through a government announcement celebrating the tender’s publication.

The groups said the E1 project calls for the construction of some 3,400 illegal settlement units to create a contiguous Israeli urban area linking Maale Adumim with Jerusalem.

For more than three decades, successive Israeli governments have refrained from advancing the project due to broad international opposition and concerns that it would sever the geographic continuity of the occupied West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem, and undermine prospects for a two-state solution.[]