Tender to open two days before election; settlers seen setting fire to olive trees; Palestinians in Jordan Valley say work on new security barrier is blocking them from their homes.
Israel has added a tender for 2,167 housing units to its E1 settlement expansion plan, a left-wing Israeli rights group said, referring to a controversial project near Jerusalem that critics — and proponents — say undermines prospects for a future Palestinian state.
The new tender is in addition to a previous tender for 1,234 units announced at the end of August, bringing the total number of housing units to 3,401, rights group Ir Amim said in a statement on Wednesday night.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich greenlit the construction of roughly 3,400 housing units as part of the E1 settlement expansion plan in August 2025, saying that it “practically erases the two-state delusion” by splitting up territory that would be slated for a Palestinian state.
The E1 expansion intends to connect the Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim areas, while seemingly scuttling the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian presence between the population centers of Bethlehem, East Jerusalem and Ramallah — long considered the basis for a Palestinian state.
The project was frozen for long years amid fierce opposition from the international community, including past US administrations
The new tender is scheduled to open for bidding on October 25, two days before the 2026 Knesset election. (Read More)
