Haaretz – Adapted

Next week, the Civil Administration will discuss any objections made against the construction proposal in the “E1” region, which is situated in the occupied Palestinian territories of 1948, close to Ma'ale Adumim. International opposition to the plan has been raised due to the possibility that construction there could divide the northern and southern parts of the West Bank from one another. The establishment of a future Palestinian state will be challenging in light of this.

Since the time of the Rabin government, construction plans have been in place in this area. However, due to pressure from abroad, its application has been delayed since 2005. Another attempt to speed up construction in the area occurred in 2017, when a law annexing the Ma'ale Adumim settlement was passed. The Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs could have voted on the measure, but Netanyahu canceled it after receiving letters from US President Donald Trump at the time. In 2020, Netanyahu declared that he had instructed the construction plan in the area to proceed once more.

The Palestinian villages of Eizariyah and Anata as well as residents of the Al-Isawiyah neighborhood in eastern Al-Quds all submitted objections to the construction plan, which the Civil Administration will discuss soon. They asserted that these plans could have an impact on any future peace agreement because they would allow communication between settlements in the West Bank and Al-Quds. The Bedouin communities, who have long resided in this region, would also suffer greatly from having to leave their homes.