Israel issues tender for nearly 1,000 new settler homes in occupied West Bank

Israel has issued a tender for nearly 1,000 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, reported the Times of Israel.

According to Israeli rights group Peace Now, the planned 974 settler homes will expand the illegal settlement of Efrat by 40 per cent, further restricting the growth of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. The project, approved last year, will increase Efrat’s land area by 160 acres, expanding its footprint by roughly ten per cent.

Hagit Ofran, head of Peace Now’s settlement monitoring, noted that construction could begin after the contracting process and permit approvals, which may take at least a year.

Peace Now, which monitors settlement activity, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of accelerating settlement expansion while Israelis are still being held in Gaza.

“While the people of Israel [set] their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” Peace Now said in a statement.

The international community, including the UN, considers all settlements and outposts illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In July the International Court of Justice ruled the occupation was “illegal” and should be dismantled as soon as possible.

The number of settlers in the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, has surged to more than 800,000 in more than 170 settlements, in addition to hundreds of outposts.

Settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories has witnessed a significant upsurge since the Israeli government of Netanyahu came to power in December 2022.

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