By JULIA FRANKEL
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has cleared the final hurdle before starting construction on a controversial settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank into two, according to a government tender.
The tender, seeking bids from developers, would clear the way to begin construction of the E1 project.
The anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, who runs the group’s settlement watch division, said initial work could begin within the month.
Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations.
The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The E1 project is especially contentious because it runs from the outskirts of Jerusalem deep into the occupied West Bank. Critics say it would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees settlement policy, has long pushed for the plan to become a reality.
“The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said in August, when Israel gave final approval to the plan. “Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
The tender, publicly accessible on the website for Israel’s Land Authority, calls for proposals to develop 3,401 housing units. Peace Now says the publication of the tender “reflects an accelerated effort to advance construction in E1.”
