Israel's Attorney General Delays E1 Construction Tender Decision Until After Elections

The tender for construction in the E1 area will proceed as scheduled before the upcoming elections, but the submission boxes will not be opened until after the vote. This means the winners will not be determined before the elections, and construction, intended partly to prevent territorial contiguity for a future Palestinian state, cannot begin as planned.

Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized the decision, calling it a "transparent maneuver" by the Attorney General, whom he accused of collaborating with MK Izchak Herzog in opposing the strategic construction in E1. Smotrich stated that the Attorney General's sole objective is to prevent the tender from concluding during the current government's term, allowing a potential left-wing government to cancel the construction.

Smotrich further argued that according to the Attorney General, the tender can be halted as long as the submission boxes have not been opened, offers reviewed, and a winner declared. He declared his unwillingness to accept this, insisting the tender must be opened and closed, with the winner announced and construction commencing, on its predetermined date.