E1 Plan
Encyclopedia
E1 Plan is an Israel
i administrative name for the stretch of land northeast of Jerusalem to the west of the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, with E-1 being an abbreviation for "East 1". The plan aims at preventing any possible expansion of Arab Jerusalem
by creating a physical link between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
The plan was initially conceived by Yitzhak Rabin
in 1995.
Palestinians describe the E1 plan as an effort to Judaize Jerusalem
. The E-1 plan is not synonymous with the expansion of Ma'ale Adumim.
The disputed E1 area is located in the West Bank
and spans the area between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement
of Maale Adumim. The land in question comprises about 12,000 dunam
s, which is roughly 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi).
If the E-1 plan is fully implemented Palestinians could, theoretically, travel between the northern and southern West Bank
via a road – that at this time does not exist – through the Judean desert
, looping around the Ma'ale Adumim bloc and the expanded area of Jerusalem whose outskirts would stretch nearly to Jericho
. There have also been suggestions for an alternate road route for Palestinians running north-south between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem that uses overpasses and tunnels to bypass Israeli built-up areas (which already exists to some extent).
The E1 area is the only geographical connection remaining between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
expanded the borders of Ma'ale Adumim significantly to include the area known as E-1. Rabin, however, refrained from implementing any construction in the E-1 area between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
During the Netanyahu
government, the Prime Minister attempted to expedite the E-1 Master Plan. A first statutory step to implementation of the plan, which includes general land designations but is not specific enough to allow the issuance of building permits, was undertaken, along with the establishment of a Greater Jerusalem umbrella municipality which was to include Ma'ale Adumim.
During the Barak
government, the Prime Minister expressed support for E-1 but refrained from undertaking any construction in the E-1 area. Barak did place the issue of E-1 on the negotiating table at Taba
and the matter remained unresolved when the Taba talks broke up.
In 2002, Minister of Defense Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
signed the Master Plan for E-1 (expedited, but not approved under Netanyahu administration) into law. Ben Eliezer subsequently pledged to the U.S. administration not to implement the E-1 plan, and indeed no further statutory planning was carried out and there was no construction in E-1 during his tenure in office.
In mid 2004, construction commenced on infrastructure in E-1. The work was carried out by the Ministry of Construction
and was illegal: in the absence of a Specific Town Plan, no permits could be or were issued to allow for this work. The work included the clearing of roads for major highways leading to the planned residential areas and site preparation for the planned police station (so that the police station in Ras Al Amud may be transferred to the settlers there, tripling their presence in the heart of that Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem).
from its Palestinian
surroundings once-and-for-all, and critics of the plan say this is the real intention of this policy.
The massive bubble is intended to cut the West Bank in two, and the E-1 plan is intended to seal off eastern Jerusalem and cut it off from the West Bank.
The severing of the northern part of the West Bank from the southern part will also result from the plan's implementation, resulting in the total isolation of east Jerusalem residents from their natural Palestinian environs.
According to the Palestinian presidential chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, "The E1 plan would separate the northern and southern West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would prevent the establishment of Palestinian state".
It is reported that there is resolute opposition to the E1 plan from the American administration under President Barack Obama
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i administrative name for the stretch of land northeast of Jerusalem to the west of the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, with E-1 being an abbreviation for "East 1". The plan aims at preventing any possible expansion of Arab Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
by creating a physical link between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
The plan was initially conceived by Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
in 1995.
Palestinians describe the E1 plan as an effort to Judaize Jerusalem
Judaization of Jerusalem
The Judaization of Jerusalem refers to the actions that Israel has sought to transform the physical and demographic landscape of Jerusalem to correspond with a vision of a united and fundamentally Jewish Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty...
. The E-1 plan is not synonymous with the expansion of Ma'ale Adumim.
E1 Plan
The plan entails building about 15,000 residential homes and a large police station, a large industrial zone, hotels, a garbage dump and a large cemetery to be shared by Jerusalem and Maale Adumim.The disputed E1 area is located in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
and spans the area between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Maale Adumim. The land in question comprises about 12,000 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
s, which is roughly 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi).
If the E-1 plan is fully implemented Palestinians could, theoretically, travel between the northern and southern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
via a road – that at this time does not exist – through the Judean desert
Judean desert
The Judaean Desert is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan...
, looping around the Ma'ale Adumim bloc and the expanded area of Jerusalem whose outskirts would stretch nearly to Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
. There have also been suggestions for an alternate road route for Palestinians running north-south between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem that uses overpasses and tunnels to bypass Israeli built-up areas (which already exists to some extent).
The E1 area is the only geographical connection remaining between Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Historical Sequence
In 1994, Yitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
expanded the borders of Ma'ale Adumim significantly to include the area known as E-1. Rabin, however, refrained from implementing any construction in the E-1 area between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
During the Netanyahu
Netanyahu
Netanyahu is a surname, and may refer to the following members of the Netanyahu family in Israel.First generation:* Benzion Netanyahu , scholar of Jewish history, Zionist activist, professor emeritus of Cornell University, author of The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain and...
government, the Prime Minister attempted to expedite the E-1 Master Plan. A first statutory step to implementation of the plan, which includes general land designations but is not specific enough to allow the issuance of building permits, was undertaken, along with the establishment of a Greater Jerusalem umbrella municipality which was to include Ma'ale Adumim.
During the Barak
Barak
Barak , Al-Burāq the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges in the Bible. He was the commander of the army of Deborah, the prophetess and heroine of the Hebrew Bible...
government, the Prime Minister expressed support for E-1 but refrained from undertaking any construction in the E-1 area. Barak did place the issue of E-1 on the negotiating table at Taba
Taba
- Places :Egypt:* Taba, Egypt, a town in Egypt near the Gulf of Aqaba.** Taba Border Crossing, a border crossing between Taba in Egypt and Eilat in Israel...
and the matter remained unresolved when the Taba talks broke up.
In 2002, Minister of Defense Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Fuad Ben-Eliezer , , born 12 February 1936) is an Israeli politician and former military officer of Iraqi origin. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, and has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Minister of...
signed the Master Plan for E-1 (expedited, but not approved under Netanyahu administration) into law. Ben Eliezer subsequently pledged to the U.S. administration not to implement the E-1 plan, and indeed no further statutory planning was carried out and there was no construction in E-1 during his tenure in office.
In mid 2004, construction commenced on infrastructure in E-1. The work was carried out by the Ministry of Construction
Ministry of Construction
Ministry of Construction may refer to:*Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport , a government department of Japan*Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China, a government department of China...
and was illegal: in the absence of a Specific Town Plan, no permits could be or were issued to allow for this work. The work included the clearing of roads for major highways leading to the planned residential areas and site preparation for the planned police station (so that the police station in Ras Al Amud may be transferred to the settlers there, tripling their presence in the heart of that Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem).
Objective and results of the Plan
This plan, if fully implemented, will cut off East JerusalemEast Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
from its Palestinian
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
surroundings once-and-for-all, and critics of the plan say this is the real intention of this policy.
The massive bubble is intended to cut the West Bank in two, and the E-1 plan is intended to seal off eastern Jerusalem and cut it off from the West Bank.
The severing of the northern part of the West Bank from the southern part will also result from the plan's implementation, resulting in the total isolation of east Jerusalem residents from their natural Palestinian environs.
According to the Palestinian presidential chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, "The E1 plan would separate the northern and southern West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would prevent the establishment of Palestinian state".
Opposing the Plan
There has been wide-scale opposition to the plan – opposition mobilized originally by lawyers and activists, including those associated with Peace Now, who closely follow developments in Jerusalem.It is reported that there is resolute opposition to the E1 plan from the American administration under President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
.