Netanyahu's Answer to Sanctions: 2,147 More Settlement Homes in E1
September 16, 2026 — Israel's Land Authority announced tenders for another 2,147 settlement homes in E1. The announcement came eight days after the United Kingdom, France, and Canada announced sanctions on settlement expansion, citing Israel's earlier E1 tenders. The tender documents will be published Oct. 25, two days before Israel's national election. Bidding will close Dec. 21.
These homes are in addition to 1,234 E1 units already out for bid, with bidding for those closing Oct. 19. Together, the two tenders essentially amount to plans for the construction of the entire E1 plan approved in December.
New Jewish Narrative opposes settlement construction because it violates Palestinian rights, burdens Israel's security, and threatens the prospect of a viable Palestinian state. E1 is the starkest example. Building there would split the northern West Bank from the south and cut East Jerusalem off from the Palestinian communities around it.
E1 has long been a focal point of international concern because construction there would severely undermine prospects for ending the occupation. Israel’s allies, including the United States, have treated it as a red line – and successive Israeli governments understood the consequences and held off on building there. Until now.
Coming right after the Sept. 8 sanctions, the timing sends a deliberate message: Netanyahu is answering Israel's closest allies by speeding up the very project they sanctioned. Scheduling the documents for the eve of the election and closing bids after the vote are designed to lock in facts on the ground that the next government will struggle to undo.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu is throwing matches at a powder keg, deliberately making the Middle East more dangerous, and the United States is conspicuously silent,” said Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of New Jewish Narrative.
"Britain, France and Canada drew a red line around E1. Netanyahu's answer was to build across it. The United States should be using its leverage to stop him, not giving cover to a government that answers diplomacy with bulldozers."
