The Jerusalem District Court rejected on Tuesday petitions from three activist groups to halt tenders for further development of the E1 area, a land strip in which the Israeli government plans to build settlements and effectively cut off East Jerusalem’s ground connection to the West Bank and the rest of the Palestinian territories.
The tenders seek investors and operators for 1,234 planned Israeli settlement units in the E1 zone.
Judge Nimrod Flax added that the petitions are still under review as there is enough time between the tenders and the actual realization of the plan. However, the tenders can proceed, he ruled.
The petitions were brought to court by peace activist organizations Ir Amim, Bimkom and Peace Now.