E1 Settlement Tender
On 18 August 2026, Israel's Ministry of Housing or Israel Land Authority opened a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, according to Al Jazeera, Peace Now and The Times of Israel. The tender covers 1,234 of 3,401 housing units approved or planned for E1 — approximately 36 percent, per the same reporting. Bids close 19 October 2026, eight days before the scheduled 27 October 2026 election, according to Peace Now, PCHR and The Times of Israel. Critics and rights groups say the project would sever the northern and southern West Bank, per Al Jazeera and Peace Now, and threaten 18 Bedouin communities in or around the project area, according to Human Rights Watch, FMEP and OCHA; the project is widely described as unlawful under international law, including in reporting on the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion.
Metrics
1,234 housing units — Tender housing units in E1
Caveat: Estimate from Peace Now, Al Jazeera, and Times of Israel, 18-21 August 2026; covers only the units in the 18 August tender, not the full E1 approved/planned total or final construction.
Sources: peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
3,401 housing units — Total E1 housing units approved or planned
Caveat: Estimate from Al Jazeera, Peace Now, and Times of Israel, August 2026; does not cover changes after the estimate or settlement units outside E1.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
Approximately 36 percent — Share of E1 total covered by tender
Caveat: Calculated from 1,234 of 3,401 units as reported by Al Jazeera, Peace Now, and Times of Israel, August 2026; does not cover later tender phases or final construction.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
19 October 2026 — Bid deadline
Caveat: Date from Peace Now, PCHR, and Times of Israel, August 2026; does not cover possible extensions or award timing.
Sources: peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; pchrgaza.org — PCHR Condemns E1 Tender and Calls for International Action; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
Eight days — Days between bid deadline and Israeli election
Caveat: Verified claim 3, based on Peace Now, PCHR, and Times of Israel, August 2026; does not cover election outcome or tender award.
Sources: peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; pchrgaza.org — PCHR Condemns E1 Tender and Calls for International Action; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
18 communities — Palestinian Bedouin communities threatened
Caveat: Estimate from HRW, FMEP, and OCHA, August 2026; covers communities identified in or around the project area, not all affected individuals or final displacement outcomes.
Sources: hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published; ochaopt.org — OCHA on Bedouin Communities Around Ma'ale Adumim and E1
The E1 Tender: 1,234 Units and a Divided West Bank
The 18 August Tender and the 3,401-Unit Plan
On 18 August 2026, Israel's Ministry of Housing or Israel Land Authority opened a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, according to Al Jazeera, Peace Now and The Times of Israel.
The tender covers 1,234 of the 3,401 housing units approved or planned for the E1 project, approximately 36 percent of the total, per the same reporting.
The deadline for bids is 19 October 2026, eight days before Israel's scheduled 27 October 2026 election, according to Peace Now, PCHR and The Times of Israel.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units; pchrgaza.org — PCHR Condemns E1 Tender and Calls for International Action
A Corridor Between East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim
The E1 project is located between East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, according to Al Jazeera and Peace Now.
Critics and rights groups expect the project to create a settlement corridor that would effectively sever the northern and southern West Bank, per the same sources.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding
Eighteen Bedouin Communities and the Displacement Risk
The E1 plan threatens the displacement or relocation of 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities in or around the project area, according to Human Rights Watch, FMEP and OCHA.
Sources: hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published; ochaopt.org — OCHA on Bedouin Communities Around Ma'ale Adumim and E1
International Law and the 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion
The E1 settlement project is widely described in the evidence as unlawful under international law, including in reporting on the International Court of Justice's 2024 advisory opinion, according to Al Jazeera and the ICJ advisory opinion.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; icj-cij.org — ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024
Corporate Complicity and the Pending Court Petition
Human Rights Watch warns that companies bidding on the tender could face complicity, legal, and reputational risks, according to Human Rights Watch; broader legal materials support the possibility of corporate liability for commercial involvement connected to unlawful settlements, per Human Rights Watch and GLAN.
An Israeli court petition challenging the E1 plan remained pending, and petitioners reportedly were not given advance notice before the 18 August tender was published, according to FMEP.
Sources: hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; glanlaw.org — GLAN on Airbnb case and legal risks for businesses linked to Israeli settlements; fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published
Claims and evidence
The E1 project is expected by critics and rights groups to create a settlement corridor that would effectively sever the northern and southern West Bank.
Claimant: Critics and rights groups, including Al Jazeera and Peace Now.
Evidence status: confirmed
Counterclaim: No counterclaim from Israeli authorities is documented in the verified claims.
Independent assessment: The corridor effect is attributed to critics and rights groups, not established as an outcome.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding
The E1 plan threatens the displacement or relocation of 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities in or around the project area.
Claimant: HRW, FMEP, and OCHA.
Evidence status: confirmed
Counterclaim: No counterclaim is documented in the verified claims.
Independent assessment: The threat is documented; actual displacement is not established.
Sources: hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published; ochaopt.org — OCHA on Bedouin Communities Around Ma'ale Adumim and E1
The E1 settlement project is widely described as unlawful under international law, including in reporting on the ICJ's 2024 advisory opinion.
Claimant: Al Jazeera and the ICJ advisory opinion.
Evidence status: confirmed
Counterclaim: No counterclaim from Israeli authorities is documented in the verified claims.
Independent assessment: The description is widespread in the evidence; the legal status remains contested by Israel but that contest is not documented here.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; icj-cij.org — ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024
Human Rights Watch warns that companies bidding on the tender could face complicity, legal, and reputational risks.
Claimant: Human Rights Watch.
Evidence status: likely
Counterclaim: No counterclaim is documented in the verified claims.
Independent assessment: Presented as HRW's attributed warning, not an established legal liability.
Sources: hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; glanlaw.org — GLAN on Airbnb case and legal risks for businesses linked to Israeli settlements
An Israeli court petition challenging the E1 plan remained pending, and petitioners reportedly were not given advance notice before the 18 August tender was published.
Claimant: FMEP.
Evidence status: confirmed
Counterclaim: No counterclaim is documented in the verified claims.
Independent assessment: FMEP reports the pending petition and the reported lack of advance notice.
Sources: fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published
Timeline
— Israel opens tender for 1,234 housing units in E1 area of occupied West Bank
On August 18, 2026, Israel's Ministry of Housing or Israel Land Authority opened a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, as reported by Al Jazeera, Peace Now, and The Times of Israel.
Sources: aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units
Open questions
- Whether the pending Israeli court petition will halt or alter the tender before the 19 October 2026 bid deadline.
- Whether any companies will publicly decline to bid following Human Rights Watch's warning.
- What is the formal status of the 18 Bedouin communities, and have any displacement or relocation orders been issued?
- How the 27 October 2026 election may affect the tender's implementation.
Source registry
- hrw.org — Human Rights Watch: Illegal E1 Settlement Tender Opens for Bids; human_rights; date not supplied
- aljazeera.com — Al Jazeera explains why E1 tenders prompted outrage; news; date not supplied
- peacenow.org.il — Peace Now: E1 tender published and open for bidding; research; date not supplied
- wizbid.co.il — WizBid tender listing: Ma'ale Adumim, Mivtseret Adumim South, 1,234 units; primary_document; date not supplied
- wafa.ps — WAFA Reports Tender for 1,234 Settlement Units in E1; official_position; date not supplied
- pchrgaza.org — PCHR Condemns E1 Tender and Calls for International Action; human_rights; date not supplied
- fmep.org — FMEP Settlement Report: E1 Tender Published; research; date not supplied
- ochaopt.org — OCHA on Bedouin Communities Around Ma'ale Adumim and E1; humanitarian; date not supplied
- unocha.org — UN officials call for halt to Bedouin transfer plans in E1 area; humanitarian; date not supplied
- timesofisrael.com — Times of Israel reports E1 tender for 1,234 housing units; news; date not supplied
- library.icrc.org — ICRC introduction to IHL rules for private businesses in armed conflict; research; date not supplied
- glanlaw.org — GLAN on Airbnb case and legal risks for businesses linked to Israeli settlements; human_rights; date not supplied
- somo.nl — SOMO on a UN Report: Ending Corporate Complicity in Palestine; research; date not supplied
- icj-cij.org — ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024; primary_document; date not supplied
- btselem.org — B'Tselem and Bimkom: The Hidden Agenda — Ma'ale Adummim Expansion and Human Rights Ramifications; human_rights; date not supplied
- old.ir-amim.org.il — IR AMIM: The E-1 Settlement Is Not Ma'ale Adumim (December 2012); research; date not supplied