CANBERRA, BRUSSELS, OTTAWA, LONDON
The Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC), a network of international civil society organisations, has submitted to the Australian Government its Stop E1 Sanctions demand, calling on Australia to take emergency sanctions action to prevent Israel’s planned East 1 (E1) settlement expansion which threatens to sever the West Bank into two disconnected enclaves and significantly escalating the scale, speed and severity of ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid.
The Sanctions demand comes after Australia launched its bid for a 2029-30 seat on the UN Security Council, promising to champion a world “governed by rules, not by power and force alone” and making conflict prevention, protection of civilians and international law central to its campaign. E1 now places those commitments under immediate scrutiny: with tenders due to close on 19 October, Australia faces an early test of how its stated Security Council priorities translate into action when international law is at stake.
Governments have a narrow window to act. Tender is open for construction on the E1 project and is set to close October 19, 2026, the week before Israeli elections. Once the bidding process closes and contracts for E1 construction are awarded, experts warn of a point of no return. The E1 construction will proceed and the West Bank will be bisected on two separate axes, irrevocably undermining its territorial integrity.
Israeli officials have not concealed the intent behind this project. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the E1 settlement project “how you kill the Palestinian state de facto.” Upon signing the framework agreement for E1, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared: “There will be no Palestinian State.”
The Coalition’s proposed emergency E1 sanctions package gives teeth to the international community’s repeated warnings against the project and commitments to impose “legal and reputational consequences” on those involved. The Coalition provided DFAT with a sanctions policy proposal setting out immediate measures to deter participation in E1 before the project advances further and the resulting harm becomes irreversible. Implementing the package would prohibit any Australian involvement in the E1 project and establish new criteria for sanctions designations for foreign actors involved in settlement development and related unlawful conduct in the occupied territory. The package additionally recommends several actors identified as primary drivers of E1 for the inaugural tranche of sanctions designations using the new criteria.
The Minister has already warned that involvement in E1 expansion would face “legal and reputational consequences.” Implementing this package would give effect to these warnings.
Katie Shammas, Executive Officer, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network:
“As Australia seeks a seat on the UN Security Council, it must show leadership in defending international law. E1 is an immediate test: Australia should impose emergency sanctions to help stop settlement expansion. The EI would split the West Bank in half, displace thousands of Palestinians and further restrict the movement of many more. It threatens the viability of the Palestinian state the Australian government recognised one year ago.”
“If coordinated with other jurisdictions, this package may help disrupt or even deter E1 construction. At the very least, it prevents Australia’s complicity in this illegal project. This is a carefully tailored, emergency action. It does not, by itself, fulfil the full range of Australia’s obligations in relation to this illegal situation, but it is desperately needed to halt this escalation.”
Bart Shteinman, Executive Officer, Jewish Council of Australia:
“The Israeli Government has been clear: The illegal E1 Settlement project will “kill the Palestinian State” that Australia recognised 12 months ago. If that recognition is to mean anything, our government must – at a minimum – impose targeted sanctions to deter any Australian involvement or assistance in this unlawful project. The time for warnings has long since passed – at a minimum, Australia must comply with its obligations under international law to prevent this illegal project from being realised.”
Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International:
“Settler violence against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank is state-sanctioned, aided and abetted. This ethnic cleansing amounts to the war crime of unlawful transfer and the crime against humanity of forcible transfer. The E1 developments significantly escalate the scale, speed and severity of ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid.
The Australian Government recognises settlers and settlements as illegal under international law and has a responsibility to take urgent, immediate action.”
A Critical Juncture
On 18 August 2026, the Israeli government issued a tender for 1,234 settlement units in the E1 area—nearly half of the 3,401 units approved as part of the wider E1 project in August 2025.
The E1 project would connect annexed East Jerusalem with the illegal Ma’ale Adumim settlement, effectively carving the West Bank into two disconnected enclaves. According to the UN, the project would “restrict Palestinian territorial contiguity between the Ramallah and al-Bireh, Jerusalem and Bethlehem governorates…[creating] routes and tunnels controlled by the Israeli occupation authorities.” The plan creates a continuous settlement corridor between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
Key Features of the Proposed Emergency E1 Package
Central to this package is a prohibition on Australian persons—including businesses, financial institutions, and non-profit organizations—from engaging in any activity related to the E1 project. Such a prohibition would ensure that all aspects of the Australian economy and financial system, from investment vehicles to supply chain, are cut off from the E1 project. The package further establishes new sanctions designation criteria specifically targeting individuals and entities involved in settlement construction, financing, and enabling activities and related violations of international law. Together, the E1 prohibition and designation criteria are designed to make involvement in otherwise lucrative illegal settlement activity legally and commercially risky, thereby deterring participation.
Global Sanctions Coalition Strategy – Demanding an Escalatory Approach to Address Settlement Expansion
The Coalition calls on governments to commit to consistent, successive sanctions measures, including meaningful rounds of designations, for so long as serious violations and abuses continue; to regularly review and expand sanctions criteria in response to evolving Israeli government policies; and to maintain pressure even if the E1 tender is withdrawn. Settlement expansion is a systemic issue requiring a systemic response from the international community.
The Global Sanctions Coalition (GSC) is a nonpartisan international alliance that mobilizes civil society and allies to promote the effective and ethical use of economic sanctions. GSC’s mission is twofold: to ensure sanctions are precisely targeted to halt atrocities and malign conduct, and to drive the recalibration of programs that inflict harm on civilians or are otherwise inconsistent, biased, or counterproductive. Visit GlobalSanctionsCoaltion.org to learn more.
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