Israel Invites Bids for 1,200 E1 Settlement Units Ahead of Election

3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 24

More than 1,200 housing units were put out to tender last week, moving Israel closer to building the E1 settlement in the occupied West Bank two months before a general election.
E1 would link Ma’ale Adumim and other settlements to East Jerusalem, effectively splitting the West Bank in two; both supporters and critics say that would cripple prospects for a Palestinian state.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are seen by analysts as using the backlash to rally right-wing voters, with Smotrich especially needing support as his party risks missing the electoral threshold.
Condemnation has spread from the UN to Arab, European and North American governments, while the United States stopped short of criticizing E1 directly but said it opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
On the ground, settlement expansion and related infrastructure have already brought demolitions and displacement, and the UN warns 18 Palestinian communities could face forcible removal.