First 1,400 housing units to be marketed in controversial E1 area of West Bank

Ma'aleh Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrach announced the marketing of the first 1,400 housing units in the E1 area, located between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem in the West Bank. This development is part of a larger government plan, approved in August 2025, to construct 3,412 units in E1, potentially increasing Ma'aleh Adumim's population by 12,000. Yifrach stated, "This is tremendous news for Ma'ale Adumim, and major news for the State of Israel as a whole."

The E1 construction has faced decades of international opposition, particularly from the US and EU, due to its sensitive location that critics argue would sever the territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian state. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich previously asserted that building in E1 would "bury the idea for good" of a Palestinian state. Despite a new road approved in March 2025 to connect Palestinian villages, opponents maintain it will not prevent the division of the West Bank.