Yesterday (13/8/25), the Subcommittee for Objections of the Higher Planning Council published the protocol from its hearing on the objections to the E1 plans, held on 6/8/25. The Subcommittee decided to reject all objections and recommend that the Higher Planning Council approve the plans (with a few minor technical amendments).
The next and final step in the approval process is the Higher Planning Council’s hearing to grant the plans statutory approval (validation). In a highly unusual move, the hearing for final approval has been scheduled at record speed — for next Wednesday, 20/8/25.
Meanwhile, Minister Smotrich announced a press conference today to declare the advancement of the E1 plan.
Peace Now: “The E1 plan is deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution. We are standing at the edge of an abyss, and the government is driving us forward at full speed. There is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to the terrible war in Gaza — the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel — and it will ultimately come. The government’s annexation moves are taking us further away from this solution and guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed.”
Next steps before construction can begin:
-
Final approval by the Higher Planning Council (scheduled for 20/8/25).
-
Publication of the approval notice – after bureaucratic processing to prepare all plan documents per the Council’s decisions; may take days or weeks.
-
Tenders for construction – In the E1 area, considered part of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement, tenders must be issued to invite developers to build the housing units. These can be published immediately after final approval. Selecting tender winners usually takes several months.
-
Building permits – Tender winners must obtain permits from the Ma’ale Adumim municipality; this process also takes several months.
-
Start of construction – Once permits are granted, building can begin. The Ministry of Housing may start infrastructure works (roads, sewage, water, electricity, etc.) even before the housing tenders are published.
If the process moves quickly, infrastructure work in E1 could begin within a few months, and housing construction within about a year.
Rejection of the objections:
The Subcommittee addressed many of the opponents’ arguments in detail but rejected them all. The most serious and central argument, however, was dismissed in just a few sentences without substantive engagement. This core argument, raised mainly by Peace Now, Ir Amim, and thousands of others, was that planning the heart of the West Bank exclusively for Israelis constitutes severe discrimination against the Palestinian population; that this land is vital for Palestinian development (whether in an independent state or not); and that the Higher Planning Council has a duty to address Palestinian needs.
The Subcommittee avoided dealing with this issue, stating:
“The committee rejects the claims, most of which are political in nature… The plan area is within the boundaries of Ma’ale Adumim’s master plans, approved for decades… Therefore, the approval of this plan makes no substantive change to the already approved plans… The opponents present many political arguments that the committee has neither the authority nor the tools to examine and discuss.”
In other words, the Higher Planning Council effectively admits that it plans exclusively for Israelis while ignoring Palestinian needs.
For more on the significance of the E1 plan, see here.