Albaidar Human Rights Organization warned that the accelerating settlement expansion east of Jerusalem under the “E1” settlement plan constitutes a dangerous escalation targeting the towns of Anata, Hizma, and Jaba’, as well as surrounding Bedouin communities, amid ongoing efforts to alter Palestinian geography in a way that threatens the territorial continuity of the West Bank.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Albaidar reported that settlers have begun establishing a new settlement outpost on land belonging to the town of Anata, near the Bedouin communities of Abu Ghaliya and Al-Ara’ra, alongside similar attempts on lands in Hizma and Jaba’, northeast of Jerusalem.
The organization explained that these actions fall within the framework of the “E1” plan, through which Israel seeks to link the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to Jerusalem.
It emphasized that this effectively means severing the geographic connection between the northern and southern West Bank, encircling Jerusalem with a settlement belt that undermines any future possibility of establishing it as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
Strategic Threat to Geographic Continuity
Albaidar noted that Anata, Hizma, and Jaba’, along with the Bedouin communities located in their surroundings, lie at the heart of the corridor between northeast and east Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement. This area represents the only remaining land link connecting the northern and southern West Bank, making recent settlement activities particularly dangerous and strategically significant.
Calls for Urgent International Action
Albaidar called for:
- Documenting and updating field maps to demonstrate the direct connection between newly established outposts and the broader E1 settlement plan.
- Urgent international intervention to halt the project and impose an immediate freeze on settlement construction east of Jerusalem.
- Protecting Bedouin communities through the provision of emergency legal and humanitarian support.
- Activating the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (July 2024) and increasing international pressure to impose sanctions on entities involved in settlement construction in occupied territory.
Impact on the Two-State Solution
The organization stressed that developments in Anata, Hizma, Jaba’, and surrounding Bedouin communities are part of a broader strategy aimed at redrawing the map of the West Bank according to Israeli interests, fragmenting Palestinian towns and Bedouin communities into isolated enclaves under expanding settlement pressure, and significantly weakening the viability of the two-state solution.
The two-state solution is widely recognized as a framework to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by establishing two states on historic Palestine:
- The State of Palestine in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
- Israel, which under this proposal would control approximately 80% of historic Palestine
Regional and International Context
The statement recalled that Arab states unanimously endorsed the two-state solution during the 2002 Arab League Summit in Beirut, committing to full recognition of Israel in exchange for acceptance of the plan, in what became known as the Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia.
It further noted that since October 7, 2023, and with full U.S. political support, Israel has carried out what the organization described as genocidal acts in Gaza, resulting in:
- 65,344 killed
- 166,795 injured, mostly women and children
- A famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children