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.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.