Israeli authorities plan to open bidding for the construction of 2,167 settlement units under the E1 project, located between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, on October 25, just two days before Israel’s scheduled elections on October 27.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing the Israeli organization Ir Amim, Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing updated the tender timetable last week. Bids will open on October 25 and close on December 21.
The 2,167 units will be added to a separate tender issued by Israeli authorities on August 18 for 1,234 units, bringing the total number of units covered by the two tenders to 3,401 — the full number of residential units approved under the E1 plans.
At the same time, a new date has been set for a tender to establish an employment and commercial zone within the project, covering approximately 1,355 dunams east of the town of Anata, in the western part of the E1 area. Access to the zone is planned from the direction of Jerusalem. The tender is scheduled to open on November 2 and close on January 4, 2027.
Israeli authorities had issued a tender for the employment and commercial zone in March. Ir Amim and Peace Now have said the project would strengthen the geographic connection between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem, while affecting Palestinian territorial contiguity.
The original E1 tender covered all 3,401 settlement units. However, authorities separately issued a tender for 1,234 of those units on August 18, despite a previous commitment to notify petitioners challenging the plans before proceeding with the tender process.
Following the move, petitioners in three consolidated challenges to the E1 plans asked the court to issue an interim order freezing the tender procedures.
On September 8, the Jerusalem District Court rejected the request, while the original petitions remain pending. Israeli authorities have been granted an extension until September 24 to submit their response.
Ir Amim said opening the tender for 2,167 units two days before the election, together with the tender published in August, would advance the process of marketing all 3,401 units approved under the E1 project.
The organization also said that advancing the residential construction plans alongside the employment and commercial zone would, in its assessment, strengthen the Israeli territorial connection between Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem and further fragment Palestinian territory. Ir Amim characterized the timing and pace of the project as reflecting what it described as a government effort to create changes on the ground.
Source: WAFA
