Israel has announced a tender for 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank
Israel’s Ministry of Housing has announced a tender for the construction of 1,234 housing units in the E1 area of the occupied West Bank, east of Jerusalem, according to BBC News. The tender covers a portion of the 3,401 housing units that the Israeli government approved last August.
The project covers approximately 12 square kilometers between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. Plans for development in E1 have drawn international criticism for decades. Opponents of the project warn that it will effectively divide the West Bank into northern and southern parts and isolate East Jerusalem.
The deadline for submitting bids is October 19—just a few days before Israel’s general election, scheduled for October 27. The Israeli organization Peace Now, which opposes settlement expansion, stated that the government is seeking to sign agreements with contractors before the election so that it would be more difficult for the next government to cancel the construction.
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According to BBC News, Israel has built about 160 settlements, home to 700,000 Jews, since the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 war. Approximately 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. Settlements in the occupied territories are illegal under international law.
Palestinian activist Jamal Juma, who lives in Jerusalem and represents the Stop the Wall campaign, told the BBC that the project will have a devastating impact on Palestinians. According to him, it will affect more than 40 Bedouin communities, which will have to be evicted.
