Palestinians erect outpost in E1 area

Palestinians, together with Israeli and foreign activists, stand near newly-erected tents in an area known as E1 on Jan. 11. Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters

Palestinian residents erected an outpost in the E1 area east of Jerusalem.

According to Ynet, approximately 200 Palestinians erected about 50 tents in the area in response to plans announced by the Israeli government in November to build settlements along the E1 corridor which connects Jerusalem to Ma’aleh Adumim, a West Bank settlement.

Ynet reported that a small contingent of international organizations were also involved in the construction of the tent outpost, which the activists called Baab al Shams, meaning “sunny gateway” in Arabic.

The Palestinians claim that building in E1 would cut Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank, break up the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state and sound the death knell to a two-state solution.

Israel's government argues that bypass roads would maintain contiguity.