Israeli Politics · 27 August, 2026 · 3 min read
Gadi Eizenkot Opposes E1 Construction Bid Schedule, Calls Two-State Solution After October 7 Delusional
Eizenkot calls the two-state solution a grave mistake. Eizenkot opposes the E1 construction bid schedule for 1,400 homes.
Framing of Eizenkot’s position: consequence-led vs extremity-led.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: eizenkot claims Ben-Gvir and Smotrich reduced army sovereignty.
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Al-Jazirah Net
“While Eizenkot’s hardline stance against establishing a Palestinian state aligns with the extremist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich’s views”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗JNS.org
“Not now. It is a mistake that has international costs.”
Translated from the original.
Read the original ↗Al-Jazeera frames Eizenkot as aligning with extremists; JNS stresses E1 timing costs.
E1 Bids Spark Rift
Lieutenant General (ret.) Gadi Eizenkot said on Thursday he opposes the construction bid schedule in E1, an area east of Jerusalem within the municipal boundaries of Ma’ale Adumim, where the Israel Land Authority announced it will offer contractors and developers the first 1,400 homes in the E1 zone (East 1).
“the Israel Land Authority announced last week that it will offer contractors and developers the first 1,400 homes in the E1 zone”
In statements to Israel Hayom, Eizenkot said, “Not now. It is a mistake that has international costs,” adding that “Netanyahu himself opposed it for a long time, but gave in to coalition pressure and approved it.”
The dispute is tied to E1’s location, described as a 12-square-kilometer (4.6 square-mile) area sitting between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem, with the project framed as connecting Ma’ale Adumim to the capital and preventing the Palestinian Authority from surrounding Jerusalem with its own metropolis.
Eizenkot also argued that a Palestinian state alongside Israel would be a “grave error,” saying “Anyone who thinks of a two-state solution after October 7 is simply delusional,” after Hamas’s massacre on October 7, 2023.
The political fight over E1 comes as Eizenkot is described as the leader of the recently formed Jewish Leadership Party and as a challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in elections scheduled for October 27.
Two-State Rejected, Timing Disputed
Al-Jazirah Net reported that Eizenkot, described as leader of the Yesh Atid party and former Israeli Chief of Staff, announced his strong opposition to the two-state solution, calling an independent Palestinian state beside Israel a “grave mistake.”A
In statements to Israel Hayom, Al-Jazirah Net quoted him saying, “anyone who contemplates a two-state solution after Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 is simply crazy or deluded.”A
While aligning with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s hardline views on settlements, Eizenkot disputed the timing of Netanyahu’s government decision to publish bids to build 1,234 settlement units in the E-1 project east of East Jerusalem.
Eizenkot said, “Not now. This is a mistake that costs us a high international price; I remind you that Netanyahu himself opposed this for a long time, and due to coalition pressure, he relented and agreed.”
Al-Jazirah Net also said Eizenkot argued that Netanyahu had handed the police to Ben-Gvir and entrusted the coordination unit for government activities in the Palestinian territories to Smotrich, “therefore the army has lost its sovereignty in the area and it must be recovered.”A
International Pressure and Fallout
The E1 dispute is unfolding alongside warnings about settler violence in the occupied West Bank, with Al-Jazirah Net citing that on August 12 the United Nations warned settler violence has reached unprecedented levels.
“more than 1,430 assaults targeting about 260 Palestinian communities”
Al-Jazirah Net said the UN documented since the start of the year more than 1,430 assaults targeting about 260 Palestinian communities, and that the assaults, demolitions, and evictions displaced about 3,800 Palestinians, half of them children.A
It further stated that about 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 settlements and 360 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and that settlers—protected by the Israeli army—commit repeated attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians.
In response to Eizenkot’s opposition to the timing of E1 bids, Al-Jazirah Net reported Smotrich replied on the X platform that “the construction works overseen by me in the E-1 area constitute a blow to the dream of establishing a terrorist state near Jerusalem.”A
The same report said Smotrich wrote, “The truth has been revealed: the government of Eizenkot-Lieberman-Golan has begun making concessions even before coming to power,” and argued that “everyone who opposes building in E-1 supports the establishment of a Palestinian state.”