Territorial settlements pushed out by Israeli hardliners are seen as a major obstacle to peace.
Israel has issued a bid to build nearly 1,000 additional settlers’ homes on the occupied West Bank, an Israeli NGO reports.
Referring to the document, the Peace current watchdog said on Sunday that development of 974 new housing units is being planned in the EFRAT settlement near Jerusalem.
The West Bank settlement, pushed out by Israeli hardliners and supported by the Israeli government, is considered a major obstacle to many peace, both Palestinians and internationally.
The project will expand Located about 12 km (7.5 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, the population of the EFRAT settlement is about 40%, and is further blocking the development of Bethlehem in nearby Palestinians, Peace said.
Hagit Ofran, who heads the group’s settlement monitoring, said construction could begin after the contract process and the issuance of permits, which could take at least a year.
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israel War. Villages are illegal under international law.
However, President Donald Trump gave unprecedented support to Israeli settlements during his first term, including the expansion of the Givat Hamatos settlement, which divided parts of Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claimed.
Trump is a Republican, but Israel has steadily expanded reconciliation during the Democratic administration, which was more important, but rarely took action to restrain them.
In a statement Monday, Israeli rights group Ir Amim said Trump’s inauguration on January 20th was led by a wave of widening settlement.
“In parallel, the Israeli government has stepped up its campaign to evacuate Palestine,” IR Amim researcher Aviv Tatarsky said in a statement.
“Since its inception in 2025, Israeli authorities have destroyed 27 structures in East Jerusalem, including 18 housing units.
Israel has built more than 100 settlements on the West Bank, ranging from front posts on the hills to fully developed communities resembling small towns and suburban areas with apartment blocks, malls and parks.
Over half a million settlers live in the occupied West Bank, home to about 3 million Palestinians.
Although settlers have Israeli citizenship, Palestinians live under military control with Palestinian authorities that control population centres.
Major human rights groups have described this situation as apartheid. Apartheid is an allegation rejected by the Israeli government, deeming the West Bank a Jewish historical and biblical comfort and opposing the Palestinian state.
Settlers’ attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have been rising sharply since the start of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, with an average of four settlers violence occurring every day.
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