Israel issues tenders for 91 settlement units in occupied West Bank, revises E1 tender schedule

Israeli authorities issued two new tenders for the construction of 91 settlement units in the northern occupied West Bank and revised the timetable for another settlement tender east of Jerusalem, a Palestinian organization said Thursday. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement that the two tenders cover land in the illegal Oranit settlement, built on land in the Qalqilya governorate. The 91 units are divided among seven compounds, with the first tender covering four compounds for 86 multi-story housing units.

The second tender covers three compounds for five low-rise settlement units. Bidding is scheduled to open Nov. 16 and close Dec. 29. The commission also said Israel revised the timetable for Tender No. 460/2025, related to the E1 settlement project east of Jerusalem near the illegal Ma'ale Adumim settlement. The tender covers 2,167 settlement units. Under the revised timetable, the opening of bidding and publication of detailed tender documents were postponed to Dec. 1, while the deadline for submitting bids was extended to Dec. 28.

Several Arab, Muslim and Western countries have recently rejected Israeli moves to advance the E1 project, warning that it would undermine prospects for a two-state solution. The two-state solution, backed by UN resolutions, envisages an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Israeli military attacks and occupier violence against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have sharply escalated since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

The attacks have included killings, arrests, home demolitions, property destruction, bulldozing of agricultural land, displacement and settlement expansion. Palestinians warn that the measures are paving the way for Israel to formally annex the occupied West Bank, undermining prospects for an independent Palestinian state.