MK Uri Ariel in E1, Tuesday
MK Uri Ariel in E1, TuesdayIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Israel will allow construction companies to build new homes between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem despite international opposition, Housing Minister Uri Ariel has declared. Ariel took part Tuesday in an event in the area.

Plans to build housing for Israelis in the area, known as E1, have been met with opposition from the Palestinian Authority and the international community.

“We will fulfill our right and our obligation to build here. In another year and a half apartments will be built in E1,” Ariel said on Tuesday, during an event in honor of Independence Day.

Ariel was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Religious Services Eli Ben-Dahan, a fellow member of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) Knesset faction.

Ben-Dahan said, “On Independence Day, we saw the strength and heroism of the people of Israel and its leaders in standing up to opposition from within and without to announce the establishment of the state, against all the odds.

“I call on the Prime Minister to continue in the path of David Ben-Gurion, to demonstrate courage and strength of will in the face of opposition to construction in E1, and to act toward the successful implementation of the building plans he announced,” he concluded.