TPC Staff
The Palestine Chronicle / August 21, 2026
Palestine urged companies to avoid Israeli tenders for the E1 Jewish settlement project, warning participation could conflict with international legal obligations.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has urged companies and economic entities worldwide not to participate in Israeli construction tenders for the illegal E1 Jewish settlement project, warning that involvement could conflict with obligations under international law.
In a statement, the ministry called on companies to refrain from making any direct or indirect contribution to settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The appeal follows Israel’s latest move to advance construction in E1, a strategically important area east of occupied Jerusalem where settlement expansion has long drawn international opposition.
The ministry said states and companies should act consistently with international law, citing the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) position that states must not provide aid or assistance in maintaining an unlawful situation arising from Israel’s occupation policies.
It also urged the international community to move beyond statements of condemnation and take “practical and effective steps” to stop the project.
Joint warning
The Palestinian appeal followed a joint statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway, which condemned Israel’s advancement of the E1 project as “unacceptable.”
The seven governments called on Israel to immediately withdraw the project and halt further settlement expansion across the occupied West Bank.
Significantly, they also addressed potential contractors directly, urging companies not to bid for construction contracts connected to E1.
1,234 units put to tender
Israeli human rights organizations Ir Amim, Bimkom and Peace Now said Tuesday that Israeli occupation authorities had issued a tender for the construction of 1,234 settlement units under the E1 project.
According to the organizations, the tender was issued without notifying petitioners challenging the project despite an earlier commitment to provide them with advance notice.
The broader E1 plan envisages approximately 3,400 settlement units on occupied Palestinian land between the illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement and occupied East Jerusalem.
Its location makes the project particularly consequential.
Construction across E1 would strengthen the physical connection between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem while further fragmenting Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
A strategic divide
Palestinian officials and international critics have long warned that E1 would severely damage the geographical continuity of the occupied West Bank.
The project would effectively drive an illegal Israeli settlement corridor through an area considered essential for connecting Palestinian communities in the northern and southern West Bank and maintaining their connection with East Jerusalem.
The project therefore threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state and further undermines prospects for a two-state solution, according to Palestinian officials.
The ministry called for broader measures against Israel’s settlement enterprise, arguing that ending the occupation and settlement activity and enforcing international law are necessary for a just and lasting peace.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.
(Anadolu, TPC)
