Today, Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) led 29 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on the administration to use every diplomatic tool at its disposal to ensure that Israel does not further advance plans to build settlements in E-1. These plans have been called “doomsday settlements” because implementing them would pose an irreconcilable challenge to a lasting peaceful solution between Israel and the Palestinians by threatening the territorial contiguity necessary for a viable Palestinian state.

Earlier this year, after pressure from Congress and the Biden administration, the Israeli government announced that it would not move forward with the approval process for planned E-1 settlements. However, in an apparent reversal, the Israeli government has recently resumed this process and has scheduled the final hearing on objections to the project within days of  President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Israel later this month.

APN’s President and CEO Hadar Susskind said: “Congress has sent a clear message in the lead up to the President’s visit later this month. Israeli governing coalitions may change, but the United States must remain firm and unwavering in its opposition to settlement construction in E-1.”