New-old hotspot:
Palestinians began to take control of the E1 ("Mevaseret Adumim") area between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, Israel Today has learned.
The pirate takeover is carried out by planting trees and fencing areas in a way that changes the sensitive status quo that prevails in the place.
The area known as E1 encompasses about 12 square kilometers (12,000 dunams) between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, and is known to be of strategic importance to both Israel and the Palestinians.
Over the years, various plans have been presented for construction on the E1, which was annexed to the municipality of Ma'ale Adumim, in order to create a settlement continuum between it and Jerusalem.
At the same time, the plans were repeatedly rejected, due to international pressure initiated by the Palestinians.
Palestinian takeover of the area will make Ma'ale Adumim an isolated enclave, while Palestinians claim that Israeli construction will drive a wedge between Judea and Samaria and will greatly extend the travel time between Ramallah and Bethlehem.
Invasion of Area E1,
The new violations by the Palestinians were discovered and documented by the field patrols of the Jerusalem Envelope Forum.
In one place a tree orchard was planted and in another place a fence was built with a locked gate surrounding a large area of E1 lands.
When the patrolman tried to find out with the Bedouin living in the area who established the orchard, he discovered that they said it was a Palestinian clan taking over from the nearby village of a-Za'im - suggesting an attempted organized takeover by the PA.
Past precedents show that when Palestinian invaders hold territory for a long time and are not quickly evacuated by the state, there is a legal and political difficulty in evacuating them.
Invasion of Area E1,
The Jerusalem Envelope Forum warned that "this is a trend that creates a Palestinian continuum aimed at taking over Ma'ale Adumim's construction reserves and disconnecting them from Jerusalem. The State of Israel must wake up and act immediately to stop the invasions both on the E1 and throughout the Jerusalem Envelope "Our land is losing our capital, and we must wake up today."
Israeli plans for construction on E1 began during the Shamir government, and in 1995 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin approved them and ordered work to begin on the site.
According to the original plan, a large neighborhood of about 4,000 housing units was to be built in the area, to be called Mevaseret Adumim and to include an employment area, parks and commercial areas, but in practice its construction was repeatedly postponed for years.
Despite this, and in order to strengthen its hold on the ground, Israel has set up a large police station on the site, which serves as the headquarters of the SJ district. These were evacuated by the security forces within a short time.
The latest construction plan for E1 was announced by former Prime Minister Netanyahu in February 2020, and was to include 3,500 housing units.
In response, near the end of the deadline to file objections to the plan, Peace Now launched a public campaign against the construction, which eventually did not materialize again following international pressure that included condemnation from the EU and the governments of France and Germany.
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