BY FRANCESCA RAPISARDA
Thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face growing uncertainty after Israeli authorities moved forward with plans that could dramatically reshape the territory and force the displacement of entire communities.
On 1 June, Israeli authorities are expected to invite bids from private companies to construct 3,400 new settlement units in the E1 corridor, an area between occupied East Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement bloc. Critics argued that the project would further fragment Palestinian territory, isolate East Jerusalem from the rest of the occupied West Bank, and jeopardise the viability of a future Palestinian state.
Among the communities most immediately affected is Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin village that has spent years living under the threat of demolition. Last week, Israeli authorities revived long-standing demolition orders against the community, raising fears of imminent forced displacement.
For residents, the announcement has brought renewed anxiety.
“Families here are not prepared to leave,” said Abu Khamees, a community leader in Khan al-Ahmar. “We had been living in limbo for years given a temporary halt on the demolition order. The decision for imminent forced displacement was like an electric shock to us.”
He described growing concerns about where families would go and how they would continue accessing basic services.
“People are anxious about where to go with their children as well as how to access essential services like health and education,” he said. “People here have already been suffering because reaching healthcare has been extremely difficult, with interrupted services due to movement restrictions and checkpoints.”
Khan al-Ahmar is one of 18 Bedouin and herding communities located within the path of the proposed development. Humanitarian organisations estimate that around 4,000 Palestinians across these communities could lose their homes and land if the plans move forward.
The proposed expansion has also reignited international concern over the E1 project, which governments and international bodies have long viewed as a significant obstacle to a negotiated two-state solution.
In a joint statement issued last week, the UK and several partner governments warned that companies participating in settlement construction could face legal and reputational risks.
Healthcare organisations working in the occupied West Bank warn that displacement and settlement expansion are also having profound consequences for access to medical care.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) stated that its mobile clinics have provided healthcare services to over 33,000 Palestinians across 22 communities since 2025. Many of these communities are located in Area C, which covers approximately 60% of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli military control.
In these areas, mobile healthcare often serves as the only available source of medical support for residents who face restrictions on movement and limited access to permanent facilities.
According to humanitarian groups, settlement expansion, checkpoints, road restrictions and settler violence have increasingly isolated Palestinian communities from hospitals and clinics. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 870 settler attacks have been recorded across more than 220 communities so far this year, averaging six incidents per day.
Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Communications in the West Bank, said the latest developments raise broader questions about international responses to settlement expansion.
“The threatened destruction of Khan al-Ahmar exposes the hollowness of years of international handwringing over illegal settlements,” she said.
“Governments have spent decades calling E1 a red line, warning it would shatter any prospects of a viable Palestinian state, while doing virtually nothing to curb Israel’s impunity.”
Campaign groups are now calling on the UK government to adopt stronger measures, including restrictions on trade linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Advocates argue that such action would be consistent with the July 2024 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which found Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories to be unlawful under international law.
For many families, the future remains uncertain.
