Israel’s Planning and Building Committee on Wednesday granted final approval for the long-delayed E1 settlement project, clearing the way for construction of more than 3,400 housing units on a strategic tract of land east of Jerusalem. The development will connect the existing settlement of Ma’ale Adumim to Jerusalem, creating a contiguous bloc of Israeli‐controlled territory. By filling one of the last open corridors between Ramallah in the northern West Bank and Bethlehem in the south, the project would effectively bisect the occupied territory, complicating Palestinian movement and, according to Palestinian officials and rights groups, jeopardising prospects for a contiguous future state. Infrastructure work could begin within months, with homebuilding expected to start in about a year. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a leading proponent of the plan, hailed the decision as evidence that “the Palestinian state is being erased – not with slogans, but with actions.” The approval follows the rejection of final legal petitions on 6 August and comes as Israel’s hard-line coalition signals its intent to expand the settler population, currently estimated at more than 700,000 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The international community has long viewed construction in E1 as an obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution, and previous Israeli governments froze the project under U.S. pressure. Wednesday’s decision is expected to draw renewed criticism from foreign governments that say settlement expansion violates international law and undermines regional stability.