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E1 Tenders Spark Outcry
Israel opened tenders for construction of 1,234 Israeli homes in the occupied West Bank under the E1 settlement project, a move rights groups say would sever Palestinian territory in two.
“Israel has opened tenders for the construction of 1,234 Israeli homes”
The project is designed to create a continuous Israeli settlement “corridor” between occupied East Jerusalem and the large settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, 7km (4.5 miles) east of Jerusalem.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Norway called Israel’s opening of construction tenders for more than 1,200 housing units “unacceptable” and in violation of “the territorial contiguity of the Palestinian Territories”.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the joint statement and called for an immediate reversal of Israel’s E1 settlement plan and an end to settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
The UN secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed by the reports of new illegal Israeli settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank,” including the new tenders.
Condemnations and Direct Threats
The BBC reported that a statement from European allies and Canada said, “At a time of grave instability in the West Bank with unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians, and serious restrictions on the Palestinian economy, this decision is even more concerning.”
The BBC also said the UN secretary general described the E1 plan as an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state, and that Belgium’s foreign minister echoed the warning.
In response to the condemnation, the Israeli foreign minister rejected the criticism after UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband’s condemnation earlier on Thursday drew “ouright” rejection, according to the BBC.
CNN reported that UK Foreign Secretary Ed Milliband said, “Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution.”
CNN added that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar fired back on X, saying, “It is absurd for Britain to lecture the Jewish people about where they may live in their historic tiny homeland.”
Bids, Elections, and What’s at Risk
The latest tender opened by Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing covers 1,234 homes, with bids closing on October 19, eight days before Israeli elections scheduled for October 27.
“Bids for the latest E1 tender close on October 19”
Al Jazeera reported that Israel plans to expand Ma’ale Adumim into E1 with 3,400 settlement homes on about 12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles) of Palestinian land, and that the wider development also envisages hotels and roads linking the settlement more quickly to Jerusalem.
The BBC said the tender covers about 12 sq km (4.6 sq miles) between East Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim, and that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the idea of a Palestinian state was “being erased.”
El País said the publication of the conditions for building 1,234 houses out of the 3,400 planned in the E1 plan drew criticism, and it described the delivery deadline as October 19, a week before elections in which Netanyahu’s coalition is struggling to maintain power.
El País also quoted UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband saying, “The United Kingdom will not stand aside or permit the destruction of the political solution of two states,” as Europe presses Israel to withdraw the public bid and stop settlement expansion.