Israel to start construction on West Bank E1 settlement, tender says

A government tender has cleared the final procedural hurdle for the E1 settlement east of Jerusalem and calls for bids to develop 3,401 housing units; the monitoring group Peace Now said initial work could begin within a month.

Israel has published a government tender that would allow construction to proceed on the E1 settlement area east of Jerusalem. The tender seeks bids to develop the site and was first reported by the anti-settlement group Peace Now. E1 has been discussed for more than two decades and was previously frozen under pressure from past U.S. administrations. Critics say development in E1 would affect the contiguity of the West Bank and hinder plans for a contiguous Palestinian territory. Key details: - The tender is publicly posted by Israel's Land Authority and calls for proposals to build 3,401 housing units in the E1 area. - Peace Now reported the tender and said initial work could begin within about a month. - E1 is an open tract east of Jerusalem; critics and many in the international community say settlement construction there would impede a contiguous Palestinian territory and view such construction as unlawful under international law. - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been a long-standing proponent of advancing the E1 plan, and the government gave final approval to the project in August. Summary: The tender moves the E1 project from planning toward possible construction and raises concerns from critics about its impact on the territorial contiguity of the West Bank. The immediate next step is the bid process called for in the tender, and observers including Peace Now have said initial work could begin within a month.