An Israeli court on Tuesday rejected a request for an interim injunction to halt a tender for more than 1,200 illegal housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank and freeze further steps to advance the settlement plans.
The petitioners sought the injunction last month as part of three consolidated petitions challenging E1. They attempted to freeze the tender after it was published without notice, despite a commitment by State Attorney's Office to notify them beforehand.
They argued that allowing the tender to proceed while the legal challenges remain pending could create facts on the ground and undermine the court's ability to provide effective relief if the petitions ultimately succeed.
However, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that “considerable time” is expected to pass before the tender is implemented and before any physical changes take place on the ground, and that the three petitions challenging E1 are likely to be decided before then.
The court also noted that the state has “committed not to argue that progress in the tender process constitutes a fait accompli”. Potential bidders “have also been notified of the pending legal proceedings and informed that any rights acquired through the tender will be subject to the court's ruling”.
Israel opened the tenders for 1,234 homes to be built in the West Bank, with a deadline set before October’s general election. The E1 is a tract of land east of Jerusalem that has been under consideration for development for more than two decades, but was frozen under US pressure during previous administrations.
An unchecked wave of settler violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is forcing even Israel's closest allies to take notice. The general election in October is often cited as one of the reasons settler violence is at such a critical moment, with the government wary of angering right-wing Israelis by cracking down on violence against Palestinians.
“Israeli actors should face a choice: building in E1 or business with Europe,” the International Crisis Group said in a recent report. “Israel’s new settlement construction plans threaten to split the occupied West Bank, poking a finger in the eye of those who support Palestinian statehood,” it added. “With the Trump administration largely keeping mum, responsibility to try stopping this project falls most heavily on European governments.”
The EU has proven reluctant to implement sanctions against Israeli settlements in recent months. Despite a push from a number of member states, no consensus exists on trade sanctions of the kind reportedly being considered by the UK. The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, meaning sanctions would likely have a much greater effect on the Israeli economy than sanctions from the UK alone.
“Together with mounting violence against and displacement of Palestinians throughout the West Bank, alongside the territory’s economic strangulation, Israeli policies have not merely undercut the prospect of a viable Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, but also put in doubt the very existence of Palestinians in large parts of their homeland,” said the Crisis Group think tank.
