Settlement & Annexation Report: October 16, 2026

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October 16, 2026

  1. EAST JERUSALEM: Cable Car Contract to be Announced Soon
  2. WEST BANK: E-1 Tender and Sanctions News; New Land Allocation Procedures; Another Demolition in South Hebron Hills
  3. STATE-BACKED SETTLER TERROR: News from the Bloody Olive Harvest
  4. BONUS READS

EAST JERUSALEM

Jerusalem Cable Car Contract to Be Finalized

Emek Shaveh reports that the Jerusalem Development Authority is planning to award th contract for the construction of the settler-backed cable car project to an Italian consulting firm. The project has been dormant for the past four years.

As a reminder, the Jerusalem cable car project is an initiative backed by the powerful, state-backed Elad settler group and advanced by the Israeli Tourism Ministry. While public efforts to “sell” the cable car plan focused on its purported role in helping to grow Jerusalem’s tourism industry or in serving supposedly vital transportation needs, in reality the purpose of the project is to further entrench settler control in Silwan, via archeology and tourism sites, while simultaneously delegitimizing, dispossessing, and erasing the Palestinian presence there. Notably, the cable car line is slated to terminate at the settler-run Kedem Center compound (Elad’s large tourism center  at the entrance of the Silwan neighborhood, in the shadows of the Old City’s walls and Al-Aqsa Mosque). The cable car project received final approval in May 2022.

Emek Shaveh said in a statement:

“As we have repeatedly stated, this project threatens the Palestinian communities of Silwan and the timeless landscape of Jerusalem’s historic core. Over the years, its planners have failed to demonstrate that the cable car will meet any transportation need. It is clear that the project’s central motivation is to consolidate the settlers’ hold on Silwan and adjacent areas as part of an effort to displace Palestinians from the Historic Basin and reshape Jerusalem’s cultural landscape.

More specifically, the project aims to reroute tourism away from the established routes through the Muslim and Christian Quarters, bypassing the historic approaches through Damascus and Jaffa Gates and seeks to funnel visitors through the settler-controlled City of David site.

If implemented, the plan will marginalize the Muslim and Christian Quarters and threaten their economies with collapse. The initiative is underscored by a desire to undermine Jerusalem’s multicultural and multifaith character which has defined it for thousands of years, and transform the Historic Basin into a space dominated by an ultranationalist, exclusivist vision for the city.”

 

WEST BANK

E-1 Bidding Set to Close on Oct. 19th; UK To Sanction Involved Companies

The bidding period for the first tender for the construction of the E-1 settlement is set to close on October 19th, though the Israeli Attorney General and the Israel Lands Authority have said that the decision to award the bids will will not be considered until after the Oct. 27th national elections.

In conjunction with the upcoming d-day for the E-1 tender, the United Kingdom has announced sanctions regulations that would target any company involved in the financing and/or construction of the E-1 settlement. A group of U.S. Democratic Senators have also introduced similar legislation threatening to sanction any company involved with E-1. In light of the UK sanctions, Peace Now called on the Israeli authorities to warn companies and banks against even submitting a bid, owning the risks of being involved in the project.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“This tender must be canceled. Postponing the opening of the tender box does not change the fundamental fact that the Israeli government is seeking to prevent at all costs the chance for peace based on two-state solution. In fact, even under the new date set for opening the tender box, there is still a strong likelihood that contracts will be signed with contractors before a new government is formed, leaving the incoming government facing a done deal that is far harder to change. Construction in E1 not only destroys the chance for peace, but also poses a real threat to Israel’s economic stability due to economic sanctions that countries around the world intend to impose on anyone involved in the construction.”

 

New Land Allocations Procedures Announced

Peace Now reports the Civil Administration has published new procedures that commit the government to publish advance notice of its intention to allocate land in the West Bank. The change, which was spurred by Peace Now’s legal action, is meant to allow greater opportunity for Palestinians to learn about and have an opportunity to challenge Israel’s plan to allocate land for the settlements.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“For nearly 60 years, the State of Israel has treated land in the West Bank as if it could do whatever it wanted with it, without transparency and outside the rules of proper administration. As a result, the authorities have allocated approximately 99.76 percent of the land to Israelis, while Palestinians have received virtually none. This is one of the reasons Israel has been accused of maintaining an apartheid regime in the Territories. Had there been even minimal transparency in the government’s conduct there, officials might not have dared to act in such a blatant and discriminatory manner.

The road to genuine transparency remains long. The new procedure does not cover roughly half a million dunams within the jurisdiction of Israeli settlements, nor the hundreds of thousands of dunams transferred by the government to the Settlement Division. Peace Now is continuing its legal battle to require disclosure of those allocations as well.”

 

South Hebron Hills Demolitions Continue

The Israeli government has continued its campaign of demolition in the Masafer Yatta region of the South Hebron Hills, this time demolishing several structures in the Umm al-Khair village on October 14th. In recent weeks, Israeli forces have demolished structures in four other villages: Khirbet a-Taban, Khirbet Jenbah, Khirbet al‑Fakhit, and Khirbet Khallet a‑Dabe’.

Peace Now, together with the residents of Umm al-Khair, filed a petition this week asking the High Court of Justice to order Israeli security services to protect village residents and its lands from settler violence. The petition also comes amidst the ongoing siege by settlers and the IDF on a Palestinian home and lands in the South Hebron Hills.

Peace Now said in a statement: 

“It is neither the first time nor any surprise that the establishment of outposts leads to increased settler violence and harm to innocent people. The Umm al-Khair community is facing mounting pressure from harassment and violence perpetrated by residents of the Carmel settlement and nearby outposts. The takeover of private land, the blocking of access routes, and damage to infrastructure and essential communal spaces are intended to make residents’ lives unbearable and drive them out. This is forced displacement, plain and simple. The authorities are failing to provide even minimal protection and, at times, effectively enable settler actions. The Court is therefore being asked to compel the authorities to protect the land, guarantee free access to it, and prevent further harm to residents and to the fabric of life in the village.”

 

STATE BACKED SETTLER TERROR

Key Reads on the Olive Harvest

As the olive harvest gets underway, state and settler violence is ratcheting up even further. Here are key reads to understand what’s happening in the West Bank:

 

BONUS READS

  1. “Series: Choke Points” (Just Vision / Palestine Reporting Lab, 10/8/2026)
    1. “Choke Points” (WIRED, 10/8/2026)
    2. “The Farmer and The Settler” (Visualizing Palestine, 10/8/2026)
    3. “VIDEO: How Checkpoints Are Suffocating Life in the West Bank” (EVIDENT, 10/8/2026)
  2. “Israeli Resettlement Activists Set up Outpost Near Gaza Border” (Haaretz, 10/16/2026)
  3. “Some Israeli settlers use sheep as tool to push Palestinians from their West Bank homes” (CBS News, 10/11/2026)
  4. “In this West Bank village, Israel won’t let Palestinians visit their dead” (Mondoweiss, 10/12/2026)
  5. “’Compassionate’ Expulsion: ’60 Minutes’ Exposes Ben-Gvir’s Great Replacement Plan for Palestinians” (Haaretz, 10/15/2026)
  6. “If Trump Wants to Stop Settler Violence, He Must Change the Rules of the Game” (Haaretz, 10/15/2026)