Ma’aleh Adumim challenges A-G opinion to delay approval of new homes in E1 settlement

Ma'aleh Adumim's municipal government petitioned Israel's High Court of Justice on Sunday, challenging a legal opinion from the Attorney-General's Office. The opinion advised delaying a tender for 1,234 homes in the E1 settlement by a month until after the upcoming October 27 election, citing potential political interference. The municipality argued that the tender was approved and in motion before the election was called, and that delaying it would be seen as political interference.

The E1 area, largely undeveloped between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim, is the site for the first stage of a larger 3,400-unit housing plan. The project has faced international criticism, with concerns about its impact on a potential Palestinian state and territorial continuity. The Attorney-General's Office claimed that the tender did not begin during the campaign and that the October 19 deadline was not close enough to the election to warrant a delay.

Ma'aleh Adumim disputes this reasoning, arguing that continuing the tender would not constitute a new policy decision during an election campaign. The city also rejected the idea that proximity to the election alone justified a delay, emphasizing that the relevant question is when the policy was adopted and the process began. The municipality has asked the High Court to order the state to explain why the tender should not proceed on its original timetable and for an interim order preventing government agencies from postponing the deadline.