Israel's Finance Minister Petitions High Court Over E1 Construction Halt
Translated & summarized from i24NEWS by baba
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich petitioned Israel's High Court of Justice against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's order to halt tenders for over 1,200 housing units in the E1 area near Jerusalem. Smotrich accused the Attorney General of illegally joining a campaign to stop construction, potentially enabling a Palestinian state. He stated that the Attorney General is abusing her power and forcing him to personally fund his legal challenge, highlighting the need for judicial reform.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich petitioned the High Court against the Attorney General's order to halt tenders for E1 construction.
- The E1 project involves marketing land for 1,234 housing units in seven complexes in Ma'ale Adumim.
- Smotrich accused the Attorney General of illegally joining a campaign to stop construction, potentially enabling a Palestinian state.
- He claimed the Attorney General is abusing her power and forcing him to personally fund his legal challenge.
- Smotrich cited the incident as a reason for judicial reform to rebalance powers between branches of government.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on Tuesday against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's directive to delay the opening of bids and the announcement of winners for tenders in the E1 area. The E1 project, located in Ma'ale Adumim, involves the marketing of over a thousand housing units across seven complexes, with political approval granted in October 2025.
Smotrich's petition argues that after the political approval, the tender stages were advanced by professional staff according to a predetermined schedule, without political intervention from elected officials. The tender encompasses land for 1,234 housing units in seven complexes in Ma'ale Adumim.
"The Attorney General has officially, improperly, and illegally decided to join Gadi Eisenkot's campaign to halt construction in E1," Smotrich stated. He described E1 as a "top-tier strategic area" that, after decades, would connect Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, determining whether Israeli-Jewish territorial contiguity is established or a Palestinian state emerges. Smotrich accused Baharav-Miara of becoming a "tool for the Israeli left" to establish a Palestinian state that would endanger Israeli citizens.
He further claimed the Attorney General is abusing her power, forcing him as the responsible minister to file the petition and pay the court fees personally to have his position heard. Smotrich cited this as the reason for the government's move to split the Attorney General's role and regulate their authorities, expressing determination to complete their plan to reform the justice system and restore balance between the branches of government in the next term. He asserted that when an elected minister cannot present their position through the state, and the Attorney General both blocks the move and dictates representation, "something in the system must change."
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