The local committee for planning and construction of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement sent a summons to discuss objections to the plans in E1, which will take place on 14/2/21. The plans in E1 for the construction of 3,412 housing units are considered particularly lethal in terms of the prospect of a two-state solution. During the previous election campaign, in February this year, the plans were deposited and objections were submitted on behalf of various parties.
For more information on the plans in E1 – see here.
It is important to emphasize that the authority to approve or reject the plans is vested in the Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration (HPC); The local committee of the Ma’ale Adumim municipality has no authority to approve or reject the plans. At the same time, it is customary for local committees to discuss plans and objections to them prior to the discussion in the HPC, where they present their position and recommendation to the Planning Council.
We do not know who initiated the convening of the meeting and whether this was done because there is an intention to also convene the HPC to discuss the plans soon. It may be a local initiative of the Ma’ale Adumim municipality in an attempt to put pressure on the government to advance the plan. It is possible that the initiative came from political sources, as an experimental balloon to examine the response of the new administration in the United States. Another possibility is that Netanyahu himself has an interest in creating the impression that he is under pressure to promote the plan.
In any case, the discussion of the plans in the local committee of the Ma’ale Adumim municipality is another step, although not large and significant, on the way to approving the plans.