Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, Yesha Council head Israel Ganz, and Maaleh Adumim Mayor Guy Yifrah on Thursday morning held a press conference announcing the approval of the E1 plan and the expansion of the “Desert Bird” (Tzipor Midbar) neighborhood.
During the event, Yifrah recited the "Shehecheyanu" blessing, calling it a historic moment for the city.
Addressing the crowd, Smotrich said: “Anyone in the world today who tries to recognize a Palestinian state will receive our answer on the ground. Not with documents, not with decisions or declarations, but with facts: homes, neighborhoods, roads, and Jewish families building their lives. They will speak of a Palestinian dream — and we will continue building a Jewish reality. This reality buries once and for all the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize.”
He added: “From here, on this important day, I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, to remove from the agenda, forever, the idea of dividing the Land, and to ensure that by September, the hypocritical leaders of Europe will not have anything to recognize.”
The plan includes 3,401 housing units in the E1 area and another 3,515 units in the “Desert Bird” neighborhood, together expected to add around 35,000 new residents in the coming years.
The new development is set to connect Maaleh Adumim to Jerusalem, strengthening the territorial continuity in the area.
At the same time, the Palestinian Authority and international community view it as a major obstacle to establishing a Palestinian state with its capital in eastern Jerusalem.