Overview

• The Civil Administration’s Planning and Building Committee granted final approval after the last petitions were rejected on Aug. 6.
• The E1 plan adds roughly 3,400–3,500 housing units to expand Ma'ale Adumim on a strategic corridor east of Jerusalem between Ramallah and Bethlehem.
• Associated Press reporting indicates preparatory infrastructure could begin within months and housing construction in about a year if procedures move quickly.
• Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed the approval, framing it as a response to recent recognition moves abroad and saying it “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
• Palestinians and rights groups warn the project would split the West Bank, and most countries consider settlement construction illegal, with Peace Now calling E1 “deadly” for a two-state prospect.