E1, also named "Mevasseret Adumim" ("Harbinger of Ma'ale Adumim," similar to Mevasseret Zion just outside Jerusalem), is a mostly empty area of 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) in Ma'ale Adumim. It is bordered by the French Hill

French Hill

French Hill , also Giv'at Shapira is a neighborhood in northeastern Jerusalem. It is located on territory occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967, later annexed to Israel under the Jerusalem Law in 1980...

 neighborhood of Jerusalem to the west, Abu Dis

Abu Dis

Abu Dis is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate, bordering Jerusalem. Abu Dis is due east of the Jerusalem municipal border. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of approximately 12,100 in mid-year 2006.-Ottoman era:Abu Dis was one of the...

 to the southwest, Kedar to the south, Ma'ale Adumim to the east, and Almon

Almon, Mateh Binyamin

Almon , also known as Anatot , is a communal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located near Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council...

 to the north. The area is mountainous and covers a bit less than 3,000 acres.

In 1994 the late prime Minister Itzhak Rabin appended Mvasseret Adumim to the city of Ma'ale Adumim. In March, 2009, Israel's Haaretz newspaper - quoting Israel Army Radio - reported that Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu had struck a secret deal with Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman to build 3,000 new homes for Ma'ale Adumim residents in E1.

The headquarters of the Samaria and Judea district of the Israeli Police Department are situated on E1

The status of Mvasseret Adumim has been disputed as part of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...

 regarding the status of East Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. Notwithstanding, E1 is accepted as strategically important for Jerusalem's security by all of Israel's former Prime Ministers since Prime Minister Rabin appended E1 to Ma'ale Adumim.

Mvasseret Adumim

Mvasseret Adumim is the next scheduled neighborhood to be built in the city of Ma'ale Adumim. Plans are for 3,500 homes, a national park, business center, and a hotel. It is a short walk from some of Ma'ale Adumim's other neighborhoods. Currently, the area is barren. It has a police station on the top of the mountain.

Controversy

"Depending on your point of view, E1 is either an Israeli stake aimed at the heart of a future Palestinian state or just a nice place for a young Jewish couple to think about one day buying a home."According to Ma'ale Adumim Mayor Bennie Kashriel, Mvasseret Adumim is needed to allow continuous natural growth in Ma'ale Adumim, and is essential for Ma'ale Adumim's security. Without Mvasseret Adumim, Ma'ale Adumim is detached from Jerusalem - which is a 12 minute car ride away, and is vulnerable to anyone who seizes the E1 range.The Palestinian Authority negotiators see E1 as blocking East Jerusalem from the West Bank. To address this concern, Israel has constructed a series of bypass roads that allow access from East Jerusalem to the West Bank. The PA is not satisfied with this, and would like to see contiguity.

External links

• Map of E1 in East Jerusalem