Israel is clearing the final hurdle to begin building a settlement project in the West Bank
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Israel has cleared the final hurdle before it can begin construction on a settlement project near Jerusalem that would bisect the occupied West Bank, according to a government tender.
The tender, which seeks bids from developers, will clear the way to start construction of the E1 project.
Anti-money laundering group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, who is in charge of the housing monitoring group, said that the first work can begin within a month.
The development of settlements in E1, an open area east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to US pressure during the previous administration.
The international community strongly regards the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The E1 project is particularly controversial because it runs from the outskirts of Jerusalem into the populated West Bank. Critics say that would prevent the establishment of a unified Palestinian state in the area.
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a right-wing politician who oversees settlement policy, has long insisted that the plan be a reality.
“The state of Palestine is being wiped off the table not with slogans but with actions,” he said in August, when Israel gave the final approval to the plan. “Every settlement, every place, every house is one of the nails in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
The tender, which is publicly available on the website of the Israel Land Authority, calls for proposals for the construction of 3,401 houses. Peace Now says the publication of the tender “shows an accelerated effort to advance the construction of E1.”
The Israeli government has given final approval to a controversial housing project that will effectively cut the heavily populated West Bank in two. Such cohabitation is considered illegal under international law.
Israeli soldiers shoot university protesters
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that 11 people were injured when Israel raided a university in the West Bank.
The president of Birzeit University, speaking at a press conference, said that a group of 20 Israeli military vehicles stormed the gate and entered the campus. A video obtained by the Associated Press confirmed their presence on campus.
“Unfortunately, targeting the university is an ongoing event,” said Talal Shahwan, the school’s president, who said the forces were showing “clear brutality.”
Israeli officials said soldiers and border guards were sent to break up the expected gathering and soon found themselves confronted by a crowd of hundreds of people, some of whom were allegedly throwing rocks from rooftops.
They said they used fire directed at them from “violent people.”
