By David Israel • September 27, 2026
Jerusalem, 27 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Attorney General ordered a one-month delay in the tender for more than 1,200 housing units in the controversial E1 corridor Near Jerusalem, saying the tender , a strategically located area between Jerusalem and the Israeli city of Ma’ale Adumim, saying the move is intended to avoid concerns that the tender could be seen as prohibited electioneering.
E1 has long been one of the most internationally disputed areas of Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria. Critics, including several European governments, argue that its development would disrupt Palestinian territorial contiguity for a future state.
Maale Adumim with the E1 zone in the foreground on Jan. 10, 2016. Photo by Hillel Maeir/TPS
The decision means the deadline for submitting bidson 1,234 housing units will fall after the October 27 elections, despite the tender process having begun in August.
The move drew opposition from Ma’ale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach, who said he would petition against the decision “and use every legal means available” to continue the tender process.
“To me, this crosses a red line. The political decision to advance the tender was made many months before the election, and since then it has proceeded through a professional and orderly process that naturally takes time,” Yifrach said. “If the claim is that continuing the tender is ‘political,’ I say exactly the opposite: stopping it now is itself a politically significant intervention.”
E1 is an area of approximately 12 square kilometers between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. The area is part of Area C, where Israel has administrative and security jurisdiction. It was incorporated into Ma’ale Adumim’s municipal boundaries in 1991, and development plans refer to it as Mevaseret Adumim.
The area is home to several Bedouin communities and a police district headquarters. The remainder is largely uninhabited. B’Tselem, an Israeli non-governmental human rights organization, claims that 6.5% of the area is privately owned by Palestinians.
