Netanyahu to sign E1 ‘framework agreement’ in Ma’ale Adumim this week – report – The Times of Israel
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Aug. 14: Trump says he’d like to see Israel allow foreign journalists into Gaza
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announces that it will screen a documentary about the October 7 onslaught, reversing a decision announced earlier this week to cancel the event. The documentary in question is “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” which tells the story of Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon, who set out to save his son, journalist Amir Tibon.
The documentary in question is “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” which tells the story of Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon, who set out to save his son, journalist Amir Tibon, and his son’s family as they were attacked by Hamas-led terrorists at their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the Gaza border. The film was created by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich.
In a joint statement announcing the decision to screen the film after all, TIFF CEO Cameron Baily and Avrich say they had “heard the pain and frustration expressed by the public” following the initial decision to scrap the film.
“We have worked together to find a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal, and programming concerns. We are pleased to share that The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue will be an official TIFF selection at the festival this year, where we believe it will contribute to the vital conversations that film is meant to inspire,” the statement continues.
“In this case, TIFF’s communication around its requirements did not clearly articulate the concerns and roadblocks that arose and for that, we are sorry,” it adds.
Netanyahu to sign E1 ‘framework agreement’ in Ma’ale Adumim this week – report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly visit the West Bank settlement city of Maale Adumim on Thursday. He is expected to sign a “framework agreement” for the construction of a large number of housing units, including the controversial E1 project. The Civil Administration of the Defense Ministry last month approved the E1 construction plans. This would likely provide housing for 12,000 to 15,000 extra residents of the city, whose current population is approximately 38,000. The E1 corridor or zone is an area of some 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles) in theWest Bank, east of East Jerusalem and west of Maalaladim. The land is inside the jurisdictional boundaries of the existing settlement city, and any construction there would become part of it.
According to a report Sunday by Army Radio, Netanyahu will sign the agreement with Maale Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrah, although Yifrah said he was unaware of such a plan.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Framework agreements” in the context of housing construction projects often involve multiple ministries, such as finance and housing, and are signed with a local municipal authority.
The state will often pledge to finance infrastructure, educational institutions, and other public buildings, while the local municipal authority will commit to approving any necessary permits within a given timeframe.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms
Although Yifrah told Army Radio in response that there was currently “a golden opportunity” to annex parts or all of the West Bank, he said he was unaware of any plan to sign a framework agreement with Netanyahu on Thursday.
“I’d be happy if he surprises us,” Yifrah added.
The Civil Administration of the Defense Ministry last month approved the E1 construction plans, which would see 3,412 housing units built in a new neighborhood of Maale Adumim on the western side of the city, just east of East Jerusalem.
Advertisement
Advocates of a two-state solution have argued for decades that the E1 project would in effect divide the West Bank in two for its Palestinian population, sever Palestinian East Jerusalem from the West Bank, and severely harm the future viability of a Palestinian state,
Some experts have, however, said that solutions could be found to the geographical problems the plan would create.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich touted the final approval of the project as “another nail in the coffin” of the idea of a Palestinian state.
Final approval of the E1 project prompted intense condemnation from numerous countries, including major European states, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney even included the advancement of the E1 project as one of the reasons behind his decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN General Assembly this month.
The state now needs to issue tenders for the construction work, review applications, and approve the contract winners, a process that at a minimum will take about a year, the Peace Now organization has estimated.
Advertisement
The E1 corridor or zone is an area of some 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles) in the West Bank, east of East Jerusalem and west of Maale Adumim. The land is inside the jurisdictional boundaries of Maale Adumim, and any construction there would become part of the existing settlement city.
The plans approved by the Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee would see 3,412 housing units built in the E1 zone. This would likely provide housing for 12,000 to 15,000 extra residents of Maale Adumim, whose current population is approximately 38,000.
E1, Maale Adumim and Jewish East Jerusalem neighborhoods constructed over the Green Line constitute a dividing block between the Palestinian cities of Ramallah to the north of Jerusalem, Bethlehem to the south, and the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
Aug. 20: Netanyahu, in UK podcast interview, says Israel has ‘work’ to do to win over Gen Z
Five IDF divisions, made up of tens of thousands of troops, are set to participate in the military’s planned offensive against Hamas in Gaza City. Forces include 12 brigade-level teams, each of which has infantry, armored, artillery, and combat engineering forces, along with combat support. IDF says efforts to set up humanitarian infrastructure in the Strip’s south for the estimated one million Palestinian civilians set to be displaced from Gaza City have also started. The European Hospital in Khan Younis, which was closed after the IDF raided a Hamas tunnel running underneath it, is also slated to resume operations. The plans, approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz last night, will be presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow.
The forces include 12 brigade-level teams, each of which has infantry, armored, artillery, and combat engineering forces, along with combat support. In addition, the Gaza Division’s northern and southern brigades — normally tasked with the border — are set to participate in the offensive, bringing the total number of brigade-level teams to 14.
The military says the preparation phases for the offensive, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots B,” have already begun, with an ongoing offensive on the outskirts of Gaza City. The Nahal Infantry Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade have been operating in the Zeitoun neighborhood, and the Givati Infantry Brigade began a new offensive in the Kafr Jabalia area, north of the city.
In addition, the IDF says efforts to set up humanitarian infrastructure in the Strip’s south for the estimated one million Palestinian civilians who are set to be displaced from Gaza City have also started.
The military says more aid distribution sites and at least two more field hospitals are set to be established. The European Hospital in Khan Younis, which was closed after the IDF raided a Hamas tunnel running underneath it, is also slated to resume operations.
“As part of the preparations to move the population from Gaza City to the southern Gaza Strip, talks have begun with international organizations to recruit them to establish additional field hospitals in the south, and there is a positive response to this,” a security official says.
The official says “there are also plans to expand the existing medical infrastructure in the south in cooperation with the organizations, and in addition, options are being examined to open access routes to additional medical facilities.”
“The UN and the organizations have begun formulating a plan to restart the European Hospital as an additional medical response,” the official adds.
The IDF’s offensive in Gaza City is set to be carried out in several stages, beginning with an evacuation warning for the civilians in the area. The IDF will then encircle Gaza City before pushing in deeper into the city, including reaching areas that were previously not completely cleared of Hamas infrastructure.
The plans, approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz last night, are set to be presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow.
In terms of reservists, a total of 60,000 reserve soldiers are being called up, in several waves. The majority — around 40,000-50,000 — will be ordered to show up for duty on September 2. Another wave will take place in November-December, and a third wave in February-March 2026.
The IDF is also extending reserve duty for many reservists who are currently on duty by 30-40 days. This will bring the total number of reservists at a given time during the offensive to around 130,000.
The reservists include three brigades and several more battalions, and many combat support soldiers, including in intelligence and logistics.
Not all of the reservists are expected to participate in the operation to capture Gaza City, as some will instead be replacing standing army troops on other fronts.
World largely decries new settlement plan, warns it will scuttle 2-state solution
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Thursday that he intends to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 housing units in a contentious area of the West Bank. The EU urged Israel “to desist” from its plan, with top diplomat Kaja Kallas saying in a statement, “The decision of Israeli authorities to advance the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law” The plan was also condemned by British Foreign Minister David Lammy, who said it must be stopped immediately. The construction scheme is scheduled to receive final approval from the government’s Higher Planning Council next week, on August 20. The plan would connect the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim metropolitan areas, while simultaneously scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah. It has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations, which feared it would prevent the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.
The far-right politician said that he intends to approve tenders to build more than 3,000 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement project between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, a plan that he claimed Thursday “buries the idea of a Palestinian state.”
The UN called on Israel to reverse its decision, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. “It would put an end to prospects of a two-state solution,” he told reporters. “Settlements go against international law… further entrench the occupation.”
The EU urged Israel “to desist” from its plan, with top diplomat Kaja Kallas saying in a statement, “The decision of Israeli authorities to advance the E1 settlement plan further undermines the two-state solution while being a breach of international law.”
The plan was also condemned by British Foreign Minister David Lammy, who said it marked a breach of international law and must be stopped immediately.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms
“The UK strongly opposes the Israeli government’s E1 settlement plans, which would divide a future Palestinian state in two and mark a flagrant breach of international law. The plans must be stopped now,” Lammy said in an emailed statement.
Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the move shows Israel “seeks to appropriate land owned by Palestinians in order to prevent a two-state solution.”
Egypt came out firmly against the plan, with Cairo’s Foreign Ministry denouncing the minister’s “extremist statements,” saying they serve as a “new indication of Israeli deviation and arrogance.”
Advertisement
The Egyptian ministry linked Smotrich’s announcement to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remark earlier this week in an i24News interview in which the prime minister acknowledged a connection to the expansionist vision of a “Greater Israel.”
Qatar, which has mediated between Hamas and Israel in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, joined Egypt in denouncing Smotrich’s actions as a “blatant violation of international law.”
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on the United States to pressure Israel into halting the plan.
Speaking separately to the Associated Press, PA Foreign Ministry official Ahmad al-Deek called the plan “colonial, expansionist and racist” and claimed that it is par for the course for Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.
“It falls within the framework of the extremist Israeli government’s plans to undermine any possibility of establishing a Palestinian state on the ground, to fragment the West Bank and to separate its southern part from the center and the north,” he said.
The E1 settlement project has been frozen for decades amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations, which feared the new settlement neighborhood would prevent the establishment of a contiguous, viable Palestinian state.
Advertisement
The plan would connect the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim metropolitan areas, while simultaneously scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, and Ramallah, which has long been considered the basis for a Palestinian state.
The construction scheme is scheduled to receive final approval from the government’s Higher Planning Council next week, on August 20.
Israeli rights groups also condemned the plan, with the anti-settlement watchdog organization Peace Now warning that resuming construction in E1 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,” the group said in a statement.
Breaking the Silence, a left-wing group established by former Israel Defense Forces soldiers, accused Smotrich of encouraging West Bank settlement activity as the Gaza war continued to capture global attention.
“This land grab and settlement expansion will not only further fragment the Palestinian territory, but will further entrench apartheid,” it said.
Plan is ‘answer on the ground’ to Palestinian state recognition
Smotrich — who, in addition to being finance minister, holds a junior ministerial position within the Defense Ministry that gives him wide say over settlement construction — said Thursday that Netanyahu supported the controversial plan, as the premier remained mum on the dramatic step.
“He backs me up in everything concerning Judea and Samaria, and is letting me create the revolution,” Smotrich said at an event in Ma’ale Adumim organized by the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing local authorities in settlements.
Advertisement
“After 20 years of delays… the traffic jam has been broken [and] the E1 plan is underway,” he continued, adding that the government is “fulfilling the promise and connecting Ma’ale Adumim with a strategic, security and demographic connection, which ensures our united capital for generations.”
Smotrich said that the resumption of the long-frozen project was a response to a wave of Western countries that announced or floated plans to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in September.
“Today, anyone in the world who tries to recognize a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground,” he declared. “Today we are writing a historic chapter in the story of the redemption of the people of Israel in their land.”
He also claimed that US President Donald Trump and Ambassador Mike Huckabee backed the step, hailing them “men of truth with a clear and distinct moral voice that is not confused by the hypocrisy of the West.”
Trump and Huckabee did not comment specifically on Smotrich’s E1 announcement as of Thursday afternoon. The US State Department, however, issued a vague statement stressing the importance of “stability” in the West Bank in response to reporters’ queries about the plan.
“A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with the Trump administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region,” said a statement from the agency.
“We remain focused on ending the war in Gaza and ensuring Hamas will never govern Gaza again, freeing the hostages, including the remains of two Americans, and facilitating the delivery of critically needed humanitarian assistance,” the statement continued, indicating that the US is less focused on developments in the West Bank than those in Gaza.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.