Israel's Attorney General Delays E1 Housing Tender Amid Election Concerns

The Attorney General's office has ordered a one-month postponement of the deadline for submitting bids in a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area, located between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. This decision means the tender process will continue only after the upcoming Knesset elections.

The tender, which includes seven residential complexes and was initially set to close on October 19, just eight days before the October 27 elections, has drawn criticism from government officials and the Ma'ale Adumim municipality. The municipality announced its intention to petition the court against the delay.

The E1 area is considered politically sensitive, and the plan to build thousands of housing units, employment zones, and public buildings there has faced opposition from various countries and international bodies. They argue that the project could disrupt territorial contiguity in the West Bank and hinder future peace negotiations.

According to the Attorney General's office, the E1 tender is not a standard land tender due to its political and international sensitivity. The office stated that announcing the winners close to the election could be perceived as election propaganda, hence the decision to postpone the bid submission deadline rather than cancel the tender.

However, the government secretary, Yossi Fuchs, strongly criticized the decision, arguing that the political decision to advance the E1 project was made months prior and the tender had proceeded professionally. He believes the delay constitutes an improper intervention during an election period.

The Mayor of Ma'ale Adumim, Guy Yifrah, echoed these sentiments, calling the delay an "improper intervention" in a professional process. He stated the municipality would petition the court, asserting that the delay adds uncertainty for developers already facing international pressure and questioning why this tender is singled out when construction tenders proceed nationwide. This development follows a district court's earlier rejection of a request for an interim order to halt the tender, while other petitions against construction plans in E1 are still ongoing.