E1 (West Bank)

E1 (short for "East 1"; Hebrew: מְבַשֶּׂרֶת אֲדֻמִּים, romanized: Mevaseret Adumim, lit. 'Herald of Adumim'), also called the E1 area, E1 zone or E1 corridor, is an area of the Israeli-occupied West Bank within the municipal boundary of the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. It is located adjacent to and northeast of East Jerusalem and to the west of Ma'ale Adumim. It covers an area of 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi), which is home to a number of Bedouin communities including the village of Khan al-Ahmar. The national headquarters of the Israel Police is also located there. Construction in E1 is controversial and has received mixed international response. When Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich approved construction plans for 3,400 new homes in August 2025, he spoke of "burying the Two-state solution". Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu employed the same rationale, adding that the land belonged to Israel. According to opponents of the plan, it will prevent expansion of East Jerusalem by creating a physical link between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem. A crescent of Israeli settlements around East Jerusalem will divide it from the West Bank, creating a continuous Jewish population between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim while jeopardizing the prospects of a contiguous Palestinian state. Palestinians describe the E1 plan as an effort to Judaize Jerusalem. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.