Israel renews E1 construction plans ahead of Biden visit
Jerusalem assured Washington that it would not let the E1 construction occur, officials told media in February
Israel's Defense Ministry is planning to advance a housing project in the E1 Area of the West Bank, it was reported Tuesday.
This comes after the Israeli government withdrew the plan in January amid international pressure, assuring the US Biden administration it would not move forward with the project.
The ministry body responsible for authorizing construction in the West Bank announced a meeting on July 18 to discuss objections to the programs that received initial approval, two projects totaling 3,412 housing units in the E1 area.
Homes would be built east of Ma'ale Adumim, breaking the contiguity between the Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem and the Palestinian towns of Ramallah and Bethlehem.
The E1 project was first approved by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in 2012 and put on hold for roughly eight years.
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, revealed in March he had aggressively pushed Israel's government to withdraw the plan, saying, “[You] can’t stop everything” and have to “pick [your] battles,” but “E1 was a disaster. I went full bore on E1.”
Two Israeli and US officials told The Times of Israel in February that Jerusalem assured Washington that it would not let the E1 construction occur.
The project's renewal comes just weeks before US President Joe Biden is expected to visit Israel for the first time as president.
“The E1 plan poses a real threat for the chance for peace and thus has gained sharp opposition in Israel and internationally,” said the left-wing Peace Now group, adding that the government "is promoting Netanyahu's dangerous policies," according to ToI.