Cancellation of the Postponement of the Tender for the Construction of 1234 Settlement Units in the E1 Area

Tel Aviv - Afaq News - The legal advisor to the Israeli government canceled today, Monday, the decision to postpone the deadline for submitting bids in a tender to build 1,234 housing units in the E1 area, after it was decided to postpone it for a month due to the proximity of the date to the election period, which means that the tender will not be postponed until after the elections.

The decision came after the legal advisor to the government, Gali Baharav-Miara, had previously decided to postpone the deadline for submitting bids for a month due to its coincidence with the election period.

According to the original decision, the tender procedures were scheduled to resume after the Knesset elections, based on a position that advancing the project at this stage could have political repercussions.

The project includes seven residential complexes comprising 1,234 housing units, out of a total of 3,401 housing units for which plans have been approved in the E1 area.

The area is located between the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem, and is considered a strategic area aimed at establishing urban continuity between the settlement and Jerusalem.

The head of the "Ma'ale Adumim Municipality", Guy Yefrah, welcomed the decision of the government’s legal advisor to retract the intention to postpone the tender, saying: "I am happy that we succeeded in the battle and that the E1 tender will continue as usual."

He added: "After more than 30 years of waiting, it is time to build. I invite entrepreneurs and contractors to apply for the tender, to take a step with us and participate in building and expanding Ma'ale Adumim and connecting it to Jerusalem. E1 is launching."

In contrast, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the government’s legal advisor of attempting to obstruct the project, stating that her decision represents a "maneuver" aimed at ensuring that the tender does not complete during the current government's term.

Smotrich added that, in his view, the legal advisor seeks to keep the possibility of halting the tender open until the bids are opened, examined, and a winner is announced, considering that the tender should be opened and closed, with the winner announced and construction work starting at the previously scheduled time.