The letter from the lawmakers comes weeks before Israeli authorities plan to hold a long-delayed meeting during which they are expected to advance plans for buildings on the area of land known as E-1, days after the end of a visit by the president of USA Joe Biden to the region. Building on E-1 would connect Jerusalem to a large settlement to its east, but would effectively bisect the West Bank and make a contiguous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital all but impossible, critics say. “We urge you to continue to emphasize ahead [US President Joe Biden’s July 13-14] visit [to Israel and the West Bank] that settlement construction on E-1 remains a red line for the United States and to use every diplomatic tool at your disposal to ensure that Israel does not advance these destructive plans further,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. . The project, near the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, was first proposed nearly two decades ago and has been repeatedly postponed due to international pressure. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revived the plan amid a 2020 election campaign, ordering it to be moved to a submission stage to the relevant planning authorities before final approval. The plans are currently in the public comment stage, requiring the Civil Administration’s Senior Planning Subcommittee to hear objections to the project. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) listens as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks to State Department staff February 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) A large group of Palestinian lawyers along with several Israeli rights groups filed complaints against the project, but hearings were repeatedly delayed until last year. A final hearing was scheduled for January, but was pulled from the agenda. US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said in March that he had aggressively pressured the Israeli government to withdraw the plan. Representatives Mark Pocan and Jan Schakowsky organized the letter to Blinken. If legal objections to the E1 plan are waived, as is often the case, the project will still need several additional approvals to enable the removal of soil – a process that often takes months, if not years. The Israeli government must stop all attempts to build settlements in the E-1 area of the West Bank. Period. 29 of our colleagues joined @JanSchakowsky and me in urging @SecBlinken to stand firm and work with Israel to prevent any expansion into this region. pic.twitter.com/9piqptJpbL — Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) July 1, 2022 But each advance of such plans makes it more difficult for them to withdraw and, consequently, causes considerable concern among opponents of the settlement business. This has been since the Ministry of Defense announced in May that it would hold a final hearing on objections to the E1 project on July 18. Two E1 plans totaling 3,412 homes are on the meeting’s file, and an official from the ministry told The Times of Israel on Friday that there are currently no plans to delay the meeting. While originally scheduled to take place nearly a month after Biden’s visit to the region, the delay of the two-day trip to July 13 meant the project would go ahead just days after the president left the country. While the White House has opposed the plan in principle, it is particularly concerned about the timing of approval and has pushed Israel to cancel the July 18 meeting, according to two Israeli and US officials. The last time Biden visited Israel was in 2011, when he was vice president. The trip was marred by an Israeli announcement of a project in East Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. Biden was outraged at the time, saying in a statement that it “undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions I’ve had here in Israel.” It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions around the world, for free. Of course, we’ll remove all ads from your page and you’ll get access to some awesome Community-only content. But your support gives you something deeper than that: the pride of participating in something that really matters. Join the Times of Israel Community Join our Community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. 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