Maale Adumim municipality challenges recommendation to postpone E1 tender — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, the Maale Adumim municipality has petitioned the High Court of Justice, challenging a legal opinion concerning a tender for the construction of 1,234 housing units in the E1 area between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. According to the Jerusalem Post, lawyers from the Attorney General’s Office recommended that state authorities postpone by one month the application deadline, which is currently set for October 19.
This deadline falls eight days before the October 27 election. The Israel Land Authority and the Ministry of Construction and Housing administer the tender and have the authority to change its schedule. Legal advisers believe that the submission of applications and the subsequent selection of developers could become part of the election campaign because of the project’s political and diplomatic sensitivity.
Municipality’s position
Maale Adumim says that the tender is not a new political decision during the election period but continues an administrative process that has lasted for almost a year. Political approval for the project was granted in October 2025, notice of the upcoming tender was published in December of the same year, and the Jerusalem district unit of the Ministry of Housing approved it on June 23. The tender documentation was finalized in August.
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The municipality also insists that the Attorney General’s Office opinion is advisory in nature and does not replace the authority of the Israel Land Authority and the Ministry of Housing. Maale Adumim Mayor Guy Ifrah said that halting the procedure would have political consequences and create additional uncertainty for developers. The municipality asks the court to require the state to explain why the tender should not proceed according to its original schedule, and to temporarily prohibit postponing the deadline on the basis of the legal opinion.
Legal disputes over the plan
The tender covers seven residential complexes and is the first stage of a broader plan for approximately 3,400 housing units in E1. The project has faced international criticism: its opponents believe that construction could disrupt the territorial contiguity of a potential Palestinian state and further separate East Jerusalem from other Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Supporters of the construction call it necessary for the development of Maale Adumim and for strengthening the city’s connection with Jerusalem.
Palestinian residents and the human rights organizations Ir Amim, Bimkom, and Peace Now are separately challenging the underlying construction plans in three administrative petitions. Earlier this month, the Jerusalem District Court declined to halt the planning process. The High Court of Justice gave state authorities until Thursday to submit a response to the municipality’s new petition.
