Israeli court refuses to freeze controversial E1 project east of Jerusalem

Court rejects petition calling for a freeze on the issuance of tenders for the E1 project east of Jerusalem, which has drawn heavy criticism from foreign governments.

By World Israel News Staff

The Jerusalem District Court has rejected an attempt to freeze a government tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, allowing the bidding process to continue while broader legal challenges to the project remain unresolved.

Judge Nimrod Flax declined to issue an interim injunction sought by Palestinian residents and three left-wing Israeli organizations challenging the E1 plans.

The ruling does not determine whether the underlying construction plans are lawful, and the three consolidated petitions against them will continue to be heard.

Flax found that there was no immediate danger of irreversible construction taking place before the court could rule on the petitions. Significant steps remain after the tender process, including selecting winning developers and obtaining building permits, and the court said it expects to rule on the challenges before physical changes are made at the site.

The state also pledged that it would not later argue that the tender had become a “fait accompli” that could no longer be reversed. Tender documents explicitly notify bidders that the project is being challenged in court and that any rights they receive will remain subject to the eventual judicial ruling.

The tender covers seven residential compounds totaling 1,234 homes in the planned Mevasseret Adumim neighborhood. Bids are due by October 19, eight days before Israel’s October 27 general election. The units comprise roughly one-third of the 3,401 homes approved for the wider E1 project.

Ma’ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach welcomed the court decision.

“There are judges in Jerusalem,” Yifrach said, adding that E1 was finally turning “from a plan on paper into reality” after more than three decades of delays. He said the city was now waiting for developers to submit bids, declaring: “E1 will be built.”

The request for an injunction was brought as part of three petitions filed by Ir Amim, Bimkom – Planners for Planning Rights, and Peace Now together with a group of Arab residents.

The petitioners argue that the planning process was flawed and failed to adequately address the consequences for Palestinian and Bedouin communities living around the area.

They also accused the government of violating an earlier commitment by state attorneys to provide advance notice before opening the tender. The tender was published on August 18 without that notification. The state acknowledged that its attorneys had not been informed before publication because of an internal error but argued that the mistake did not justify freezing the bidding process.

Following Tuesday’s decision, the organizations criticized the court for allowing the tender to continue, saying the government was using the end of its term to “establish facts on the ground” that would be difficult to reverse. They argued that E1 would deepen Israeli control over the area and undermine prospects for a negotiated political settlement.

E1 has been one of the most politically sensitive Israeli construction projects in Judea and Samaria for decades. The largely undeveloped area lies between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.

Both critics and supporters of the plan say it will help anchor Israel’s control over Judea and Samaria and solidify a geographic split between Arab population centers north and south of Jerusalem, thus making the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state more difficult.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has explicitly tied development of E1 to his opposition to Palestinian statehood. When promoting the project, he said construction would demonstrate Israel’s position through “homes, roads, and Jewish families building their lives here,” rather than diplomatic declarations.

The tender’s publication in August prompted a coordinated international backlash.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and numerous other countries called on Israel to withdraw the plans, saying E1 would “drive a wedge through the West Bank” and damage the territorial viability of a future Palestinian state. The governments also warned companies against bidding for the construction work.

The European Union separately called for the tender to be withdrawn.

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