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/ The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
On July 29th, I joined an emergency press tour organized by Ir Amim, focusing on the planned settlement expansion in E1. The tour came ahead of the plan’s upcoming court hearing on August 6th, 2025. It was a timely and powerful reminder of how essential it is to complement policy work with direct field engagement – meeting affected communities and witnessing firsthand the scale and detrimental implications of these developments.
The “National Park” Project: Greenwashing & Annexation
In 2025, Israeli authorities approved and effectively unfroze the National Park Plan surrounding Mount Scopus and encompassing Palestinian lands. The national park blueprint also delineates a perimeter around the Old City of Jerusalem, with a planned promenade that cuts directly through Palestinian neighborhoods. Officially, the plan claims to “preserve nature,” but in practice, it enables state authorities to claim the land for tourism and other uses, paving the way for Israel’s spatial and demographic dominance. This is a striking example of “greenwashing” – using environmental justifications to mask a policy of ethnic cleansing and Judaization of the area.
E1 Plan: A Fatal Blow to a Two-State Solution
If fully implemented, the E1 plan would effectively divide the West Bank and render any future Palestinian state geographically impossible, with the most severely affected towns being At-Tur and Al-Izzariyya. Maps presented during the tour outlined planned routes, settlements, and the completion of the Apartheid wall, which would completely seal off the area. Ma’ale Adumim, a major settlement within E1, encompasses approximately 40,000 settlers and located just 11 km from the Green Line. Its scale and strategic location make it a cornerstone of de facto annexation. The question of what will happen with Ma’ale Adumim remains one of the central obstacles to any future two-state solution.
Severe Impact on Local Communities
During a meeting with an engineer from the Al-Izzariyya municipality and member of the Coalition Against Settlements, several points were highlighted:
Around 60% of the 55,000 Al-Izzariyaa residents hold Israeli ID cards. However, receiving services from the local Palestinian municipality puts them at direct risk of losing their IDs—a policy that forces impossible choices.
Restrictions on freedom of movement: Approximately 1.8 million Palestinians rely on a single road to access Jerusalem, while 400 settlers use a dedicated, segregated road. Chronic traffic congestion serves as a daily form of psychological warfare towards Palestinians.
Immediate threat to Bedouin communities: Four Bedouin communities, totaling dozens of families, face imminent forced displacement, including a PA-built school slated for demolition.
Water crisis: Palestinians receive just 28 liters of water per person daily, compared to 280 liters per settler. In summer, families are forced to divert their scarce water to livestock, sacrificing their own needs for economic survival.
Looking Ahead
This tour came at a critical moment, as the E1 expansion plan poses an imminent threat of forcible displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The plan advances some of the most dangerous annexation policies pursued by the Israeli government and would effectively eliminate the prospect of a future Palestinian state. Mitvim will continue to monitor these developments closely and integrate on-the-ground insights into our policy work in pursuit of a more just and viable political future.
