Israel to start settlement construction near Jerusalem

Israel is expected to start settlement construction on the outskirts of Occupied East Jerusalem after the first hurdle, before beginning construction, has been cleared, as reported by Asharq Al-Awsat and agencies on January 6th.

This is according to a government tender, which is seeking bids from developers. Peace Now, an Israeli-based anti-settlement monitoring group, states that initial work could begin within the month.

Construction is part of the “E1” settlement project, described by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as “Zionism at its best“, which envisions the building of 3,400 housing units for Jewish settlers in an area east of Jerusalem.

Under this project, 82% of the Occupied West Bank would be annexed, leaving six isolated Palestinian enclaves outside of Israeli jurisdiction. It would also destroy the possibility of a territorially contiguous Palestinian state by severing East Jerusalem from Palestinian territory.

Settlement development in E1, an area of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for over 20 years; however, progress was halted due to pressure from previous US administrations.

The E1 project aims to connect the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim with those in East Jerusalem. Maale Adumim is one of the West Bank’s largest settlements, with an estimated 40,000 inhabitants.

Residents of Maale Adumim were broadly supportive of settlement expansion in September, when they were visited by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One resident, Dany Hadar, said the expansion “should have been carried out at least ten years ago.”

Another resident, Eda, said that expansion was necessary because “since [the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on] October 7, 2023, we need to reinforce our security and connect to Jerusalem.”

Currently, around 700,000 Israelis reside in Jewish-only settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, despite settlement expansion being illegal under international law.

Both the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Six-Day War, which also resulted in the capture of the Gaza Strip, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

Settlement expansion is part of a broader Israeli government plan to maintain a Jewish demographic majority in Israel and the occupied territories.

Jews from anywhere in the world are permitted to emigrate and settle in Israel under the “Law of Return”, with applicants requiring at least one Jewish grandparent to be eligible for Israeli citizenship.

Palestinians in the occupied territories are facing escalating violence from Jewish-Israeli settlers, who seek to establish and expand more settlement outposts on Palestinian land.

Asharq Al-Awsat and agencies, Maghrebi.org