Israeli Court Allows E1 Housing Tender to Proceed

The Jerusalem District Court has rejected a request for an interim order that would have halted the tender for construction in the E1 area between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem. This decision allows the marketing process for 1,234 housing units in the planned neighborhood of Mevaseret Adumim to continue. The court ruled that there has been no change in circumstances to justify freezing the tender and that the balance of convenience strongly favors the state and the Ma'ale Adumim municipality.

The petitioners were ordered to pay court costs. The petitions challenging the plan itself remain pending and will be decided at a later date; therefore, today's ruling does not settle the overall legal challenges but permits the tender process to move forward in the interim. The deadline for submitting bids for the tender is October 19.

The E1 plan, situated between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, has long been considered a highly sensitive construction project politically. The current phase involves a tender issued by the Ministry of Construction and Housing for 1,234 housing units in seven complexes within the neighborhood.

Ma'ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrah welcomed the court's decision, stating, "There are judges in Jerusalem. I welcome the court's decision not to stop the E1 tender and to allow this important and historic process to continue moving forward." He added, "After more than three decades of delays, pressures, and attempts to block construction, E1 is becoming a reality from a plan on paper. We will continue to work with determination so that Ma'ale Adumim grows, develops, and connects to Jerusalem. The first 1,234 housing units are already in the tender, and we expect entrepreneurs and contractors to come build the future of Ma'ale Adumim with us. E1 will be built."

In August, the plan drew condemnation from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, and Norway, which called on Israel to immediately reverse its decision to publish the construction tender and cease expanding settlements in the West Bank.