On Thursday, September 11, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed off on the long-stalled but highly contentious E1 settlement plan, setting in motion a dramatic expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The move, which has reverberated through the region and drawn sharp international scrutiny, comes amid a week of surging violence and deepening divisions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Standing before supporters at a ceremony in the sprawling settlement of Maale Adumim, Netanyahu declared, “We said that there will not be a Palestinian state – and indeed there will be no Palestinian state. This place is ours.” According to the Associated Press, his remarks underscored a hardening stance from Israel’s leadership and signaled an unambiguous rejection of a two-state solution, a vision widely supported by the international community as the only viable path to peace.
The E1 plan, originally conceived in the late 1990s but repeatedly delayed by international opposition, will permit the construction of more than 3,400 new settler units in a key corridor between Maale Adumim and occupied East Jerusalem. This expansion, as reported by multiple outlets including Al Jazeera and the BBC, is expected to connect existing settlements, effectively cutting the West Bank in two. Critics argue that such a move would isolate East Jerusalem, sever Bethlehem and Ramallah from each other, and fragment Palestinian communities into isolated enclaves reminiscent of South Africa’s apartheid-era Bantustans.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a vocal proponent of settlement expansion, described the E1 approval as “Zionism at its best – building, settling and strengthening our sovereignty in the Land of Israel.” But the announcement has been met with a chorus of condemnation abroad. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the plan poses “an existential threat” to the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state, a sentiment echoed by the governments of France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, all of which have signaled support for recognizing Palestinian sovereignty.
Under international law, the construction of settlements by an occupying power is illegal. Yet, as of 2025, roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers live in about 300 settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem—territories Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war. The scale and pace of settlement construction have accelerated in recent years, despite mounting criticism from human rights organizations and growing unrest on the ground.
The timing of Netanyahu’s E1 signing could hardly have been more fraught. This week saw a surge in violence across the region, with Israeli forces intensifying raids and mass detentions in West Bank cities and refugee camps. The escalation followed a deadly shooting attack at a Jerusalem bus stop on Monday, September 8, 2025, which left six Israelis dead. The attack was claimed by Hamas and was followed by a separate stabbing incident that wounded two more Israelis near Jerusalem.
In response, Israeli troops launched sweeping punitive operations in Palestinian localities. On Thursday, Israeli forces blockaded the West Bank town of Tulkarem, detaining over 100 Palestinians and forcing residents to march in lines toward a nearby military checkpoint. According to Quds News Network and corroborated by the Associated Press, troops brought roughly a thousand people to an open field near the checkpoint, holding them overnight before releasing most by Friday morning. Pharmacist Yazeed Al-Sarghali recounted, “They made us stand in a line, like a train. There were seven of us, and they marched us for about 100 meters. As we were walking, they would stop anyone they suspected, including people living in the houses on both sides of the street.”
Elsewhere in the West Bank, the violence took a devastating toll on children. On the same day as the Jerusalem attack, Israeli forces in Jenin shot three 14-year-old Palestinians, killing two of them: Islam Majarmeh and Mohammed Masqala. According to the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry and the Associated Press, Majarmeh was killed as his family returned to their home, which had been destroyed in a previous Israeli army raid. His father, Abdul Aziz, described the moment: “He was standing right next to me, and suddenly he collapsed, face-first on the ground. A soldier came and told me to leave. I said, ‘How can I leave? I won’t go. This is a child.’” The military said the individuals had entered an off-limits area and ignored orders to leave, but added that the incident was under review.
The following day, another 14-year-old, Oday Turkman, was shot and wounded while riding his bike in the West Bank. His father, Faisal, insisted, “He wasn’t carrying a stone or anything else, and he posed no threat.” The military claimed troops had opened fire because stones were being thrown at them, but the family disputes this account. According to United Nations data, at least 18 Palestinian children under the age of 15 have been shot and killed by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank since the start of 2025.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Israeli military raids across the West Bank have become near-daily occurrences, with the stated aim of rooting out Hamas and other militant groups. However, as reported by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, over 19,000 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank in the past two years, marking a dramatic escalation in arrests and detentions. Human rights groups have also documented the Israeli government’s role in arming settlers and providing impunity for attacks on Palestinian communities.
The E1 plan’s approval, and the violence that has accompanied it, has left many observers warning that the prospect of a viable Palestinian state is slipping further out of reach. Palestinians and rights groups argue that the settlement expansion will make the creation of a contiguous state virtually impossible, a view widely shared by international diplomats. “The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict and end the kind of bloodshed seen this week,” the Associated Press noted.
Israel’s current government, however, remains firmly opposed to Palestinian statehood. While some Palestinian factions, including elements within Hamas, have at times suggested willingness to accept a state along the 1967 borders, deep mistrust and ongoing violence have left such proposals mired in skepticism and uncertainty.
As the dust settles over another week of tragedy and political brinkmanship, the region finds itself at a crossroads. The E1 plan’s implementation, with its sweeping implications for both geography and demography, has set the stage for new tensions and further entrenched divisions. For ordinary families in the West Bank—whether standing in lines at military checkpoints, mourning lost children, or watching new construction rise on contested land—the future remains as uncertain as ever.