Israeli Judiciary Delays Solicitation for Controversial Settlement Project Until After Elections

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The Israeli Attorney General ruled on Sunday to postpone the deadline for bids for the controversial "E1" construction project, which would separate the northern West Bank from the southern part, until after the elections.

A spokesperson for Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara stated, "The Attorney General instructed the relevant parties to postpone the deadline for submitting bids for a month after the elections to reduce concerns about using the tender for electoral propaganda, which is prohibited," referring to the upcoming legislative elections scheduled for October 27.

The project aims to connect the settlement of "Ma'ale Adumim" to Jerusalem, isolating the city from its Palestinian surroundings, as part of a broader Israeli plan known as "Greater Jerusalem."

The roots of the "E1" plan date back to 1991 when it was first proposed by the government of Yitzhak Shamir. However, the actual push to advance it came in the mid-1990s under the government of Yitzhak Rabin, which attempted to translate it into reality on the ground.

However, American pressures prevented that and forced Rabin to freeze the plan, a position that remained consistent in the following decades. Since then, there have been repeated Israeli attempts to revive the project, the most notable of which was in 2004 during Ariel Sharon's tenure, but the opposition was not limited to Washington; it extended to the European Union as well, and this opposition remained sufficient to thwart every attempt until the current announcement.

Last summer, Smotrich described the approval for construction in "E1" as the "last nail in the coffin" of establishing a Palestinian state, asserting that without this area, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital becomes practically impossible.

He added: "Those who want to recognize a Palestinian state will see our response on the ground, not through statements, but through homes, roads, and Jewish families building their lives here. We are creating a Jewish reality that buries the Palestinian idea forever."

The announcement coincided with an unprecedented diplomatic momentum represented by successive waves of international recognition of the Palestinian state between 2024 and 2025, led by prominent European countries such as Spain, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Armenia. This was followed in September 2025 by a qualitative leap within the United Nations General Assembly, when major Western countries like France and Britain announced their recognition, along with Canada, Australia, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, Andorra, Monaco, and others.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, condemned the "E1" plan, considering it undermines the two-state solution, and that its implementation would permanently cut the geographical continuity between occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, separating the north from the south.