Global Sanctions Coalition Demands Emergency Sanctions to Stop Israel’s E1 Settlement Expansion 

London, 17 September 2026 – The Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC), a network of international civil society organisations, has submitted its Stop E1 Sanctions demand, calling on the UK to take emergency sanctions action to prevent Israel’s planned East 1 (E1) settlement expansion which threatens to sever the West Bank into two disconnected enclaves and “bury the idea of the Palestinian State.” 

Governments have a narrow window to act. Tender is open for construction on the E1 project and is set to close on 19 October 2026, the week before Israeli elections. Once the bidding process closes and contracts for E1 construction are awarded, experts warn of a point of no return. The E1 construction will proceed and the West Bank will be bisected on two separate axes, irrevocably undermining its territorial integrity and creating facts on the ground that extinguish the possibility of a viable Palestinian State. 

Israeli officials have not concealed the intent behind this project. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called E1 development “how you kill the Palestinian state de facto.” Upon signing the framework agreement for E1 development, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared: “There will be no Palestinian State.” 

The Coalition provided a package to UK authorities outlining an effective emergency sanctions response to this imminent and irrevocable harm to Palestinian self-determination, territorial integrity and any future peace. However, implementing the sanctions package would prohibit any UK economic involvement in the E1 development and establish new criteria for sanctions designations for foreign actors involved in settlement development and related unlawful conduct. The package also recommended sanctions against the key actors driving the E1 project. 

International governments including the UK have already warned that involvement in E1 expansion would face “legal and reputational consequences.” Implementing this package would give effect to these warnings. The Coalition is putting governments on notice: the UK must do everything in its power to prevent the further entrenchment of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise in the oPt before it is too late. That means pulling every lever possible to stop E1 before the October tenders move forward.  

Neil Sammonds, ICJP’s Head of Public Affairs and Communications, said:  

“The UK has finally recognised that Israel’s occupation is unlawful – more than two years after the International Court of Justice reaffirmed that and outlined clear obligations on what the UK and other states must do to end the unlawful situation. The E1 project further escalates Israel’s already soaring and devastating illegal settlement expansion, carried out not only before the eyes of the UK but also with economic and financial support coming from it. There is not a moment to waste. The UK must demonstrate its commitment to international law by immediately implementing this package of sanctions.” 

Leo Verity, CAAT’s Advocacy Manager, said: 

“The UK Government’s recent steps on Israeli settlements and recognition of unlawful occupation and ethnic cleansing against Palestinians are long overdue, but welcome. New restrictions on arms exports to Israel must now follow as part of this “comprehensive reset”. 

However, these announcements have not addressed the imminent need for the government to act before the catastrophic E1 tender closes and renders this progress meaningless. Strong words must be matched with meaningful action to fully end UK complicity with Israel’s genocide, and the Government must adopt the Global Sanctions Coalition’s proposals urgently to do so”. 

A Critical Juncture 

On 18 August 2026, the Israeli government issued a tender for 1,234 settlement units in the E1 area – nearly half of the 3,401 units approved as part of the wider E1 project in August 2025. Today, 17 September 2026, Israel has announced a tender for an additional 2,167 settlement units for E1.

The E1 project would connect annexed East Jerusalem with the illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement, effectively carving the West Bank into two disconnected enclaves that are themselves already sub-divided into many enclaves by hundreds of barriers and restrictions imposed by Israel’s unlawful occupation and apartheid regime. According to the UN, the project would “restrict Palestinian territorial contiguity between the Ramallah and al-Bireh, Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates…[creating] routes and tunnels controlled by the Israeli occupation authorities.” The plan creates a continuous settlement corridor between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem. 

Key Features of the Proposed Emergency E1 Package 

Central to this package is a prohibition on UK persons – including businesses, financial institutions, and non-profit organisations – from engaging in any activity related to the E1 project. Such a prohibition would ensure that all aspects of the E1 project from investment to supply chain are cut off from the UK market and financial system. The package further establishes new sanctions designation criteria specifically targeting individuals and entities involved in settlement construction, financing, and enabling activities and related violations of international law. These criteria are calibrated to build economic risk into involvement in otherwise lucrative illegal settlement activity and to deter such involvement.  

Global Sanctions Coalition Strategy – Demanding an Escalatory Approach to Address Settlement Expansion  

The Coalition calls on governments to publicly commit to a rolling schedule of further designations while illegal settlement expansion continues, to regularly review and expand sanctions criteria to adapt to evolving Israeli government policies, and to maintain pressure even if the E1 tender is withdrawn. Settlement expansion is a systemic issue requiring a systemic response from the international community.  

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The Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC) is a nonpartisan international alliance that mobilises civil society and allies to promote the effective and ethical use of economic sanctions. GSC’s mission is twofold: to ensure sanctions are precisely targeted to halt atrocities and malign conduct, and to drive the recalibration of programs that inflict harm on civilians or are otherwise inconsistent, biased, or counterproductive. Visit GlobalSanctionsCoaltion.org  to learn more.  

Endorsers of this submission include: 

ENDS 

Notes for Editors: 

1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.   

2. For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact the ICJP news desk at [email protected]. 

Image: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office via Wikimedia Commons