Palestinian PM Urges US to Stop E1 Israeli Settlement Project

A billboard promotes new apartments in the Maale Adumim settlement, east Jerusalem. (AP)
A billboard promotes new apartments in the Maale Adumim settlement, east Jerusalem. (AP)
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Palestinian PM Urges US to Stop E1 Israeli Settlement Project

A billboard promotes new apartments in the Maale Adumim settlement, east Jerusalem. (AP)
A billboard promotes new apartments in the Maale Adumim settlement, east Jerusalem. (AP)

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the United States and the international community to help stop the E1 settlement project near Jerusalem, which would undermine the two-state solution.

Speaking at a cabinet session, Shtayyeh said that the establishment of E1, which will include 12,000 settlement units, means isolating Jerusalem from the Jordan Valley and separating the northern West Bank from its south.

Shtayyeh warned that the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) would be active in the West Bank and Jerusalem, in order to seize more lands, urging Palestinians to be wary of attempts to seize their land.

He revealed that the organization is registered in the UK, the US and Israel, as a charity that receives donations exempting it from taxes, while illegally using these fund in building settlements.

Shtayyeh vowed to bring all violations committed by the Israeli authorities to the ICC, “as war crimes, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law.”

The E1 is a huge settlement project that was approved in 1999, and includes about 12,000 dunums, the majority of which are lands declared by Israel as “state lands.”

During the 1990s, E1 was annexed to the Maale Adumim settlement, bringing its total area to 48,000 dunums.

The project aims to link Jerusalem with a number of Israeli settlements, through the confiscation of Palestinian land and the establishment of new settlements, in the area between East Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has repeatedly threatened to take severe steps if Israel implements the project, which was rejected by the administration of former US President Barack Obama and various countries.

The Jewish National Fund had previously approved a draft resolution allowing it to work on expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

After final approval, the Fund will have the right to purchase land in the West Bank for annexation to existing settlements.

However, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz requested postponing the decision fearing it would anger the United States and the international community.

The Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish movement in the US, also slammed the proposal, saying that while Israel is looking to forge a strong relationship with the Biden administration “this unilateral move could be inflammatory and harmful.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned on Monday the approval of the draft resolution, saying it is extremely dangerous and could terminate any opportunity to establish an independent Palestinian state, “geographically connected to its capital, East Jerusalem.”

It noted that the “colonial decision” coincides with a fierce settlement attack on the occupied Palestinian territories, and a real war waged by Israeli forces and settlers to empty Area C of any Palestinian presence.



‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

A report published by The Wall Street Journal, and promoted by Israeli media on Sunday, has renewed focus on an Israeli plan dating back more than 60 years aimed at pushing for the creation of “emirates” or entities independent from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The report focused on the Palestinian city of Hebron, and cited what it claimed were “21 tribal elders from Hebron,” who allegedly sent a letter in Hebrew to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for negotiations with them to join the Abraham Accords and consequently abandon the “two-state solution,” which Palestinians rely on to establish their state.

However, a Palestinian security source, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, said: “What is happening is yet another Israeli attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority.”

“This is a failed plan,” he said: “No one here would dare take this step and say: I am the spy... I am the alternative to the Authority ... Those who tried that are known and represent no one.”

Reportedly, the elders included a detailed proposed timetable for talks to join the Abraham Accords and for “a fair and decent arrangement that would replace the Oslo Accords, which only brought damage, death, economic disaster and destruction.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, the initiative was helmed by Wadee al-Jaabari, who local city residents and its political leadership claim is unknown to them, and backed by "four other leading Hebron sheikhs.”

Palestinian city residents, including Jaabari's extended family members, condemned the proposal, saying that its authors do not represent them.

Israeli sources said that Economy Minister Nir Barkat stands behind the letter, which was allegedly sent to him. Barkat met at his home with al-Jaabari and the other sheikhs; he has held more than 12 meetings with them since February, The Wall Street Journal said. They asked him to forward the letter to Netanyahu and are now waiting for his response.

The sheikhs reportedly proposed that Israel grant work permits to 1,000 workers from Hebron on a trial basis, and then extend this to another 5,000.

According to Maariv newspaper, the Israeli government is “seeking to promote this plan to destroy the Palestinian Authority and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”