Overview
- An Israeli planning committee granted final approval on Aug. 20 for the E1 project after petitions were rejected on Aug. 6, clearing the way for preparatory work.
- The plan calls for roughly 3,400–3,500 housing units to expand Maale Adumim toward East Jerusalem in a tract many governments consider decisive for future borders.
- Foreign ministers from the EU, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and others labeled the approval a violation of international law and called for its immediate reversal.
- Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected the criticism, asserting a historic right for Jews to live anywhere in the Land of Israel and saying Israel is acting lawfully.
- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed the decision as a move to bury Palestinian statehood, while advocacy groups say infrastructure could start within months and housing in about a year.