The new Israeli government is pushing ahead with expansionist projects in the West Bank at the risk of provoking unrest among Palestinians and criticism from allies abroad. On July 15, the Israeli Defence Forces advanced plans to build 3,412 new apartments in the West Bank along the strategic E1 highway, which helps link East Jerusalem to the rest of the West Bank. The move allows the E1 settlement project to advance to Israel’s Higher Planning Committee, which could then greenlight the project and allow construction tenders to be issued. The E1 construction project had largely been stalled over the past 30 years as successive Israeli governments feared the international repercussions of building a settlement in the area. In more recent years, the government of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had advanced plans to build in the region, buoyed by the support of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.